DesignaKnit 9 User Manual

for product level

Complete

Part 3 of 5: Stitch Designer

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015

www.softbyte.co.uk
(Complete)

Table of Contents
Welcome 9
What's new 12
General 12
Standard Garment Styling 12
Original Pattern Drafting 12
Stitch Designer 13
Interactive Knitting 14
DesignaKnit Graphics Studio 14
Overview of the Workspace 15
Grid 17
Pointer position 18
Palettes 20
Right Click Workspace 21
Colour Scheme 21
Buttons and Menus 25
Top Toolbar 25
Left Toolbar 31
Menus 36
File 36
Edit 38
View 40
Zoom 43
Modify 44
Palettes 45
Check 46
Shapes 47
Transfer 49
Options 50
Help 51
Work Flow 52
Preparation 52
New 53
New Pattern Setup 53
New from Default 57
New from Current 58
Open Stitch Pattern 58
Design 58
Check 59
Save 63
Delete 64
Print Stitch Patterns 64
Stitch pat picture 66
Stitch pat symbols 66
Stitch pat template 67
Colour changes 68
Pattern text 69
Key to symbols 70
Download 70
Design Tools 71
Selection box 71
General properties 72
Drag and Drop 74
Control Tools 75
Cut, Copy & Paste 76
Shuffle Pattern 83

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Redefine 84
Pattern Repeats 86
Insert Rows and Stitches 87
Lasso 88
Drawing Tools 92
Pencil 94
Brush 95
Eraser 95
Line 96
Curve 96
Simple Curves 98
Simple Shapes 99
Complex Shapes 100
Flood Fill 102
Rectangle 103
Ellipse 104
Dropper 105
Trace 105
Lettering 108
Lace 110
Bird's-eye 110
Fill Pattern 111
Mirrors 112
Convert Images 115
Image Size and Colours 116
Conversion Settings 118
Knitting Method 122
Examples 123
Line drawing 123
Graphic with colours 125
Manipulating Stitch Patterns 128
Scaled Paste 129
Size 130
Colours 133
Motifs 137
Export Motif 137
Import Single Motif 138
Import Border 140
Import Tile 142
Yarn Numbers & Feeders 148
Changing sequence 150
Moving yarns 150
Editing 152
for Fair Isle 152
for Jacquard 156
for Right & Wrong side facing texture 161
Error messages 161
Turn 163
Flip 164
Rescale 164
Variations 167
Vary at Random 170
Shadows & Outlines 171
Description 172
Bars 174
Direction 175
Spread and Distance 175
Bird's-eye 176
Shapes and Stitch Patterns 178
Working with Shape Files 178

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Opening 179
Tensions 180
Positioning 182
Integrating 184
Naming 187
Cut and Sew 187
Options 189
Leave side edges unmarked 192
Process 193
Texture Variation 196
AutoChart 199
Create 200
Add shaping 202
Split in sections 204
Examples of Using Stitch Patterns 208
Basic 208
Single Border 210
Adding complexity 211
Stitch cable 216
Fantasy blanket 217
Embroidery 221
Palettes 223
Description 224
Palette Toolbar 228
Yarn Colour Setup 234
View properties 235
About Colours 235
Arranging colours 236
Colour ranges 237
Memo numbers 238
Yarn Symbols 242
Symbols Organizer Setup 243
General 244
Symbols Organizer Toolbar 245
Save 246
Handling palettes 246
Save palette 246
Export palette 247
Open palette 247
Import palette 249
KnitWrite© 251
Machine knit Smart Symbols 252
Knit & Purl 253
Tuck 254
Thread lace 255
Slip 255
Weave 256
Technique Change Control 256
Lace 259
Hand knit Smart Symbols 260
Knit and Purl 261
End of row 261
No-stitch 263
Turns 265
Multi-stitch procedures 268
Memo Symbols 271
Stitch types 273
Increases 278
Decreases 283

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Needle positions 286

Double bed 287
Miscellaneous 289
Keyboard layout 289
Designing with Symbols 291
Table of Symbols 292
Text Editor 295
Overview 296
General 297
Buttons 298
Stitch Cables 302
Machine knitting 303
Hand knitting 306
Left edge 306
Row 1 306
Integrating 308
Cables Palette 308
Stitch Cables Organizer 311
Naming system 312
Search Criteria 315
Working with stitch cables 317
Custom Cables 318
Example 321
Placing Stitch Cables 323
Lace 328
Lace Symbols 329
Drawing Lace 331
Lace on specific machines 333
Silver Reed 334
Brother 334
Toyota 336
Punch cards and Reader sheets 336
Methods of Knitting 338
Hand Knit Options 340
Knit Method 340
Start of knitting 340
Background stitch types 342
Machine Knit Options 345
Knitting machine setup 349
Advanced 350
Copy, Delete machine 351
Jacquard 352
Method A 354
Method B 354
Method C 355
Method D 355
Method E 356
Method F 356
Templates 357
Default technique 358
Stitch Pattern Methods 358
Fair Isle 359
Intarsia 360
Jacquard 361
Right & Wrong side facing texture 362
Summary 363
Printing Shapes 365
Page Setup 366
Global Print Options 367

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All Formats 368

Test Page 369
Japanese notation 369
Size in Pixels 371
Copy to Clipboard 371
Save to Image File 372
Setup for chosen format 372
Shaping as X's 373
Piece summary 376
KnitLeader 378
KnitRadar 379
Garment outline 379
Garment notation 380
Garment text & Stitch pattern text 380
Key to symbols 384
Yarn Calculation 384
Garment picture & Stitch pat picture 387
Garment symbols & Stitch pat symbols 389
Integrated template 390
Fair Isle 394
Intarsia 396
Jacquard 396
Right & Wrong side facing texture 398
Lace templates 399
Integrated changes 403
Using DesignaKnit 406
Keyboard short cuts 406
Workspace Colours 408
File types 409
Folders and Paths 410
Rename files 412
Accessing Help 412
Contents 414
Manual 416
Good Practice 417
Backups 417
Updates 418
Documenting with Screen Prints 418
Knitting Information 420
Tensions 420
Tension dialogues 420
Tension buttons 423
Tensions and Exact Stitch Layout 424
Tensions and Passap 424
Estimating tensions 426
Tension Swatch 427
Rib 428
Knitting Abbreviations 430
Needle Sizes 431
Stitch Pattern Files 432
Thumbnails 433
Sort 435
Search 435
Open File 437
Save 437
Delete 439
Integrate 440
Transfer 443
Upload from Knitting Machine 444

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Extract 446
Restore 448
Download to Knitting Machine 450
Integrated Download 455
Shape Files 458
Thumbnails 458
Search shape files 460
Sort shape files 461
File Open 462
File Save 462
File Delete 463
Graphic Files 465
Thumbnails 465
Search Graphic Files 467
Sort Graphic Files 468
File Open 468
RGB and HSL 470
Knitting Machines 472
Memory considerations 474
Brother 475
Upload & Download 475
Specific models 477
KH930, KH940, KH950i or PPD 477
Brother KH965i and KH970 478
KH965, KH270 479
PPD in KH900 or KH930 mode 480
Creative 481
Passap 481
Download 481
Technique numbers 481
Specific models 483
E6000 483
E8000 485
Duomatic 80 486
Silver Reed 486
Upload & Download 487
Specific models 487
EC1 - Electronic Card Reader 487
PC10 - Pattern Controller 487
PE1 - Design Controller 488
Superba 489
Toyota 489
Colour Changer 490
Examples 491
Numbers and Letters 492
Fair Isle and Colour Changer 493
Carriage position 494
Memo numbers 495
Warning messages 495
Cable Links Information 497
General setup 498
Specific Cable Links 500
Silver Reed 500
Brother 501
Passap 503
ScreenLink 504
USB Converter 504
PPD Adapter 505

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Magnet Arm 506

Tutorials 507
Licence Agreement 508
Credits 510
Index i

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page viii

 Welcome (Complete)

Welcome
Welcome to DesignaKnit 9 in which a
huge variety of stitch patterns and
garment shapes can be designed.
Unique designs can be created by using
different elements of DesignaKnit and the
results of working in the different sections
can be combined and used in Interactive
Knitting to physically knit the designs.
As each of the sections offers unique
possibilities, the manual is constructed in
such a way that the relevant information
is always accessed from the section that
is currently worked in so that, for
example, when Standard Garment
Styling is worked in, accessing the
manual will present Standard Garment
Styling specific help.
Each of the sections can be accessed
from the opening screen (as shown on
the right) by clicking on the relevant
button or pressing the corresponding F-
key on the keyboard. These buttons and
F-keys can also be used within DesignaKnit to switch between most sections.
Clicking the "About DesignaKnit" button at the bottom of the opening screen will display information about
the current version, which can also be accessed by the Help / About menu option within each section.
DesignaKnit 9 offers four product levels that can be purchased or upgraded to. The current product level
is reflected in the opening screen. Each product level is tailored to a different use, where the Complete
product level has it all, the HandKnit product level does not include any options for knitting machines and
neither of the Machine product levels contains options for hand knitting. Original Pattern Drafting is not
included in the Machine Standard product level. More information can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see
https://www.softbyte.co.uk/designaknit.htm). The different options for each product level have been
explained in the different program sections if necessary.

For first time users it is recommended to look through some of the video tutorials (See page 507) and
read through the "Work flow" and / or "Buttons and Menus" chapters as a way of getting to know Desig-
naKnit and its possibilities.

Standard Garment Styling - allows creating and amending of complete garments. Basic
shape files are provided to be used and altered or completely new garments can be designed easily by
using the step by step guidance. Standard size tables are provided as well as an option to create custom
sizes for intended wearers, to ensure a good fit for all body shapes and sizes. Standard Garment Styling is
a great starting point to get to grips with the screen layouts and concepts of DesignaKnit.

Original Pattern Drafting - allows complete freedom of designing shapes and garment pieces.
A piece may be started from scratch on a blank workspace, or shapes may be drawn in from various other
sources and worked on until the desired result is achieved. Garment shapes from Standard Garment

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Welcome (Complete)

Styling can be opened, outside patterns may be used to create pieces and stitch patterns from Stitch
Designer can be applied. Once designed, the pattern pieces and knitting instructions can be printed in a
variety of ways and Interactive Knitting can be used to follow knitting instructions on the computer screen
or, if the computer is connected to a knitting machine by a cable link, knit interactively.

This section of the program is not available in the

Machine Standard product level of DesignaKnit
and will present the warning as shown on the
right when trying to access it.

Stitch Designer - allows stitch patterns to be created, saved, amended and integrated into
(garment) pieces by using a wide variety of tools including Stitch cables and Lace patterns. An extensive
selection of stitch patterns is provided together with many tools to create unique and individual designs
from scratch.
Stitch patterns can be designed and / or amended to embellish and personalize garment pieces that have
been designed with Original Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment Styling. Stitch patterns can be integ-
rated with as many different shape files as needed.
Stitch Designer allows for different yarn colours and textured stitches, depending on the possibilities of the
chosen method of knitting. The Drawing and Control tools in the Top and Left Toolbars give easy access to
elements such as stitch cables, curves, lines and lace drawing. Patterns from other sources can be placed
on the workspace and photos or other graphic image files can be converted into stitch patterns in Stitch
Designer (although DesignaKnit Graphics Studio is often more suitable for the latter). Palettes are saved
with each stitch pattern to facilitate amending the pattern at another time, and can also be customised and
saved separately for future use with different stitch patterns.
Stitch patterns can be integrated with garment pieces, or vice versa, to allow precise positioning and integ-
ration.
KnitWrite© font symbols have been specifically created for DesignaKnit and can be used to design stitch
patterns for machine as well as hand knitting. Charts and text instructions can be produced to be printed
and / or used in Interactive Knitting, and the patterns can be downloaded to certain knitting machines by
using an appropriate cable link. More information can be found on the Soft Byte Ltd (see https://www.soft-
byte.co.uk/cablelinks.htm) site.
Stitch Designer has many options to manipulate designs, such as scaling, flipping, turning and variations,
and designs can be created using the new Shadows and Outlines tool as well as Pencil, Brush and Curve
tools, to name but a few. If an option is not available at any time, which may depend on the product level,
knitting machine or selected method of knitting, it will be greyed out.
Stitch patterns can be created and amended in many different ways, such as:
○ Using Control tools to define general size and look of a stitch pattern and Drawing tools like brush,
curve, circle, pencil etc. to draw colours and texture directly on the workspace.
○ Manipulating existing stitch patterns to scale, resize, turn and even add shadows and outlines.
○ Importing and manipulating Motifs and borders to appear over a whole garment piece or only a part
of it.
○ Adding words to a stitch pattern to personalize a knitted piece, such as a jumper or baby blanket.
○ Importing an image or photograph and convert it to stitches and rows to create a unique stitch
pattern.
○ Copying parts of one stitch pattern to be used to create a different pattern.

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Interactive Knitting - provides row by row, stitch by stitch instructions on what needs to be
done at the knitting stage. If there is a cable link in place, garment pieces and swatches can be machine
knitted interactively, otherwise the instructions can be read and followed on the computer screen.

DesignaKnit Graphics Studio - allows a wide variety of graphics such as line drawings, photo-
graphs, pictures, scanned charted designs or any other supported graphic file format to be converted into
stitch patterns. Different options regarding size, colours and amount of detail can be tried and tested by
using the buttons on the Left Toolbar or by using the provided Wizard tool, which can be accessed at any
time to step through the process in a logical way. Once the options are set as required, the stitch pattern
can be converted to Stitch Designer, where it can be amended further if necessary and applied to
(garment) pieces.

We hope you enjoy using the program and wish you many happy hours of designing and creating.

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What's new (Complete)

What's new
The program is continually improved and can be updated at regular intervals (See on page 418).
A complete list of the DesignaKnit 9 new features can be found on the Soft Byte Ltd site (https://soft-
byte.co.uk/DK9UpgradeForms/DK9_upgrade_features_F.pdf).

General
Default folders - there are now separately configurable default folders for shapes, stitch patterns and
graphic image files. They can be changed in the File / Default Folder menu option in Standard Garment
Styling, Original Pattern Drafting, Stitch Designer and DesignaKnit Graphics Studio and can be set
independently of each other. The option to revert to the original default path is also provided. This last
option is available only after a user defined path has been opted for.
Licence key - if the Licence key and lace number are entered as a Windows Administrator user all
users of that computer will thereafter have access to DesignaKnit 9. If a Standard (limited) Windows
user enters the numbers, the program will most likely not be accessible to other Windows users on the
same computer until they enter the numbers to complete the installation process. This is due to the
different read / write access levels of Administrator and Standard users on the system.
Notes - the 'Notes' sections for shape files in the Tension dialogues of Original Pattern Drafting and
Stitch Designer and for stitch patterns in Stitch Designer (Edit / Notes) have been extended to contain
4000 and 360 characters respectively.
Thumbnails - more information is displayed in the thumbnails, such as the knit method, and stitch
symbols are presented correctly in the preview. If stitch patterns have been integrated with garment
pieces, a small symbol will appear on the relevant pieces in the Thumbnails view. Additional check
boxes have been provided in the Thumbnails Search section to easily limit the search to the relevant
criteria. The Embedded Text field can now be used to search on file names of integrated stitch patterns
or background image graphic files as well as the notes that may have been entered in the Tensions
dialogue.
Printouts - the rendering of fabric texture in the Stitch Pat Picture and Garment Picture printout formats
has been improved and more closely matches the Stitch Designer screen. Stitch Template and Integ-
rated Template printouts for Jacquard patterns have been improved when row numbers are included
and now include Colour Changer and Jacquard yarn sequence information where required.
Colour Changer - the use of a Colour Changer is now a property of a stitch pattern rather than a
property of the selected knitting machine, and can be set in Options / Method of Knitting. Different stitch
patterns can be saved with different Colour Changer settings, which means that it is no longer neces-
sary to adjust the Changer setting for each pattern that is currently being knitted or printed. Yarns can be
assigned to Colour Changer feeder positions by assigning Memo numbers to the yarn colours in the
Palettes / Memo menu option in Stitch Designer.
Passap - technique numbers for the Passap 6000 and 8000 are better supported. They can be assigned
to a stitch pattern at the design stage and will be saved with the pattern. A default technique number can
be set in the Knitting machine setup and will be allocated to new stitch patterns when they are created.

Standard Garment Styling

An enhancement has been made by displaying the units of measurement in centimetres or inches in
more places.

Original Pattern Drafting

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 What's new (Complete)

As well as general enhancements such as improved selecting, aligning and distributing points and better
viewing possibilities, new options have been added in DesignaKnit 9. They include a "Background
Image" option, "Construct a slope", "Measured Adjustment", Bezier curve types when curves are
created, the possibility to overlap pieces to result in different shapes and a versatile new way to start a
(garment) piece.

Stitch Designer
Shadows & Outlines and a new Curve tool are the main additions to DesignaKnit 9. Improvements and
enhancements have been made to several of the Design Tools, such as adding a 4-way spiral symmetry
option to the "Mirrors" tool, improved "Tiling", changes in the "Integrate" options and additions and
changes to the Brother Stitch World patterns.
Curves - there is a new Curves option on the Left Toolbar. When it is used in conjunction with the
mirrors it offers a variety of symmetric curved shapes which can be manipulated by dragging the
different handles. The curve may also be dragged to span multiple repeats of a stitch pattern, thereby
creating stunningly unpredictable and complex patterns. As well as simple curves, different symmetrical
shapes have been provided that can be used as a starting point.
Mirrors - the kaleidoscopic Mirror button on the Left Toolbar has an additional 4-way spiral symmetry
option.
Tiling - Edit / Import / Tile now has tags for adjusting repeat intervals and skewing of an imported motif.
Motifs can be dragged so they overlap, enabling very interesting arrangements. Patterns can also be
tiled evenly within a given target area, making it possible to, for example, tile a pattern evenly across the
back of a jumper.
Bird's-eye - has been extended into three states of which the third, new, state produces more sparsely
spaced Bird's-eye, favouring left or right mouse button colour, thereby offering three possible mixtures
of yarn.
Selection box - the F4 key can be used to toggle between no selection box, untagged box, and tagged
box in addition to using the buttons on the Top Toolbar.
Lasso Tool - the status bar of the Stitch Designer workspace is now updated with the position of the
object in the stitch pattern when a motif or stitch cable is dragged by using the Lasso Tool. The displayed
information is similar to that shown when resizing the selection box or dragging its contents.
Cut and Sew - has the new option to “Leave side edges unmarked” to be used with the new Interactive
Knitting "Knit as one section" option, which makes it possible to combine conventional side seam
shaping with Cut and Sew necklines.
Integrate - several improvements and adjustments have been made.
○ The stitch pattern file name for a given piece can be unintegrated completely by using the new red
"X" button to the right of each garment piece as shown in the Shapes / Integrate menu.
○ When both shape file and stitch pattern file are opened, any pieces that had previously been integ-
rated with the newly opened stitch pattern are shown automatically. Any pieces that are uninteg-
rated remain unintegrated until they are integrated by the user.
○ Shapes / View All Pieces displays all pieces but now integrates only those pieces that had previ-
ously been unintegrated with the current pattern.
○ When a garment piece is dragged to a new position that overlaps or is completely outside the
existing stitch pattern repeats, the number of repeats is now adjusted to accommodate the new
position of the piece.
Shadows & Outlines - a new option to add shadows and outlines to stitch patterns can be found in the
Modify / Shadows & Outline menu options.

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What's new (Complete)

Brother Stitch Patterns - the Stitch World patterns are presented differently, in colours that match the
Stitch World book. Tuck, slip, thread lace, weave and garter patterns are drawn with the appropriate
stitch symbols and automatically produce the correct needle selection. More detailed information about
how Stitch World patterns have been presented can be found in Stitch World patterns for DesignaKnit 9
(https://softbyte.co.uk/_dk9web/DK9_StitchWorld.pdf).
Colour Scheme - there is a new "Differentiate colours automatically" option to ensure that the colours in
the Colour Scheme are sufficiently different to be distinguished from each other and the colours that are
used in the stitch pattern. The colours that are used are visible in Options / Colour Scheme, making it
easy to see at a glance which colours are used.
Cursor - when no drawing tool is active and no selection box is visible, and the view is zoomed in so that
the horizontal, vertical or both scroll bars are visible, the cursor is now a flat hand, indicating that the
stitch pattern can be panned by dragging, using the left mouse button. A different cursor is used to
indicate when the selection box contents may be dragged.
Lace Tool - is now part of the DesignaKnit program and has been made available to all product levels.
Although it is developed for machine knitting, hand knitters may find it useful to easily draw lace
sequences.

Interactive Knitting
A "Knit as one section" option has been added so that side seam edge shaping can be combined with a
Cut and Sew neckline.

DesignaKnit Graphics Studio

The way that images are dealt with in DesignaKnit Graphics Studio has been greatly improved.

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 Overview of the Workspace (Complete)

Overview of the Workspace

Grid 17
Pointer position 18
Palettes 20
Right Click Workspace 21
Colour Scheme 21

Stitch Designer can be started from the opening screen of DesignaKnit or by switching to it from
Original Pattern Drafting, Standard Garment Styling or Interactive Knitting. It is also automatically opened
when DesignaKnit Graphics Studio is exited.
In all cases some of the properties shown on the screen are taken from the last saved file. E.g., If a Silver
Reed knitting machine was chosen with a method of knitting of Fair Isle at the last save action, this will be
the starting point of Stitch Designer. If the method of knitting was Hand Knit, then that will be the starting
point. If a stitch pattern is still in memory, DesignaKnit will display it on opening Stitch Designer.
If Stitch Designer is started from the opening screen of DesignaKnit, the workspace is presented as a blank
canvas onto which a stitch pattern can be opened or designed from scratch, as shown below. As Desig-
naKnit tries to anticipate on the next requirement, switching to Stitch Designer from Original Pattern
Drafting will place the stitch pattern that is integrated with the active piece, if this is the case, or the last
used stitch pattern on the workspace. When switching from Standard Garment Styling, either a blank
workspace will be presented or the last known stitch pattern that is in the Stitch Designer memory. If
accessed by exiting DesignaKnit Graphics Studio the currently converted stitch pattern, or the last one that
was opened in Stitch Designer or the blank workspace would be presented.
The blank workspace shown below is presented when starting Stitch Designer from the opening screen of
DesignaKnit 9. The same could be achieved by going to File / New from Default, or "Ctrl-D".

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Overview of the Workspace (Complete)

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant section.

At first glance there are a lot of elements. What is shown on the screen depends to a large extent on the
options chosen in the View menu. Each of the options is described in the sections below and in various
parts of the manual.
The Title bar of the program window displays information about the section of DesignaKnit that is currently
used (which in this case is Stitch Designer), as well as the name of the pattern file if there is one on the
screen (in this case there is not, so the pattern file name is "Untitled.stp"), the size of the grid that is
displayed (40x40), the method of knitting (See on page 430), tension (T:30x40) and whether the pattern is
hand knit or, if machine knit, which knitting machine is active.
The Status bar shows additional information that is pertinent to the current action, such as a description of
each menu option as the cursor is hovered over it, the number of errors when a Check is run, position and
number of stitch columns or rows to be inserted or deleted etc.
The steps of designing a stitch pattern are described in the Work Flow (See page 52) chapter.
Clicking each of the five Program Sections buttons will open the appropriate section of DesignaKnit. Each
section is described briefly in the Welcome (See page 9) chapter. The section that is active appears as a
pink button, while the others are shown as green. The Interactive Knitting button is shown here as from the
Complete product level, although it will consist of either the Hand Knit or the Machine Knit symbol in those
product levels.

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 Overview of the Workspace (Complete)

The Toolbars at the top and left of the workspace provide a multitude of options to manip-
ulate stitch patterns. The buttons are grouped into logical units and greyed out when not in
use.
The buttons across the top relate mostly to viewing the work in different ways; zooming,
rulers, palettes, selecting areas and displaying stitch patterns on shape files (See also Top
Toolbar on page 25).
The top section of the left hand side toolbar contains general commands like opening,
saving and printing, as well as the Help and Undo / Redo buttons. The second block (see
red rectangle) contains buttons that control stitch types (See on page 75) and the third block
(blue rectangle) relates to Drawing Tools (See page 92) that can be used to design stitch
patterns (See also Left Toolbar on page 31).
The buttons can work like toggles, switching on and off when they are clicked, or they can
perform one-time actions.
Each Menu option has been described in detail in the Menus (See page 36) chapter.

Grid

The default grid that is offered has 40 stitches and 40 rows in order to design a
stitch pattern. It can be shown with grid markings for each stitch and row, grid
division lines, no lines or in "Fabric Texture" view. These options can be switched on
or off in the View menu or by clicking the relevant buttons in the Top Toolbar, with
the exception of "Grid Divisions" which can only be toggled in the View menu.
The appearance of the elements of the grid can be changed through Options /
Colour Scheme. In the image on the left the Grid lines have been changed to grey,
while the Grid Division lines have been left black to produce more contrast. More
information can be found in Colour Scheme (See page 21).
Grid divisions can be used to outline larger areas of the pattern rather than, or in addition to, the stitch by
row grid display. Grid Divisions can be switched on and off in View / Grid Divisions. The "Grid" display can
be toggled on or off and the "Grid Division" lines will still be visible. The size of the division can be set in
Options / Grid Division Size. Only one size can be entered so a section always consists of say 10 stitches x
10 rows, 12 stitches x 12 rows or whatever size is chosen. The minimum size is 2 to represent a section of
2 stitches by 2 rows and the default size is 10. If a number is entered that is equal to or larger than the stitch
pattern, no divisions will be shown. Depending on the tensions that are set in Options / Tensions the grid
divisions generally appear as rectangles on the screen, rather than squares because rows take up less
space than stitches.

Setting the Grid Division size in Stitch Designer changes the Grid Division size throughout
DesignaKnit. Whenever a printout with grid lines is required they will be shown as dictated
here.

"Boundary" is a line which is set around a single repeat of a pattern and is shown here as a pink line around
the outside of the grid because there is no stitch pattern on the workspace at this time. If pattern repeats
are active, the boundary line makes it easier to view where each repeat starts and ends, and a selection
box can easily be drawn accurately. The colour of the boundary line can be changed in Options / Colour
Scheme / Pattern Boundary.

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Overview of the Workspace (Complete)

The background colour of the Stitch Designer grid is dictated by the RMB colour of the current palette.
When starting a new stitch pattern the background colour can easily be changed by selecting a different
RMB colour in the palette, then clearing the existing background colour through the Edit / Clear Yarn
colours menu option. This will replace the existing colour with the current RMB colour.

Pointer position

The pointer position box is shown on the

workspace as a default. If it is closed by clicking the red
cross in the top right corner, it can be brought back into
view by clicking the relevant button (shown here) in the
Top Toolbar. Alternatively, the View / Pointer Position
in Pattern menu option can be used to view or hide it.
The pointer position window represents a mouse with
three buttons and is a useful reminder of which colour
or stitch is associated with which mouse button. The
colours on each button correspond with the colours that
are chosen in the Palette, as can be seen in the image
on the left. The white square in the colour on the palette
shows which mouse button the colour is fixed to. The
mouse buttons are referred to as RMB, LMB and MMB
throughout the manual and represent Right, Left and
Middle mouse button respectively.
When a 'New from default' stitch pattern is started
DesignaKnit presents a grid of 40 stitches x 40 rows.
Depending on whether the "Grid" and "Boundary" views are switched on in the View menu or by clicking
the relevant buttons in the Top Toolbar (as they were for this image), the individual grid cells (stitches) are
shown, as well as an outline along the borders of the grid (visible here as faint pink lines on the top and right
of the image).
"L38 R3" and "Row 39" refer to the exact position of the cursor (shown here to the right of the Pointer
position box). The stitch position is calculated by counting from the right and left edges of the pattern and
the row position is counted upward from row 1. In this case the cursor is located on row 39, counting
upward from the bottom of the grid (one below 40, which is the top of the grid). The stitch is located on the
38th position from the Left of the grid and the 3rd position from the Right of the grid. Together the Left and
Right numbers always add up to 1 more than the actual number of the stitches, as the position itself
overlaps these. This information is only shown when the cursor is hovered over the stitch pattern.
If more than one pattern repeat is shown the mouse pointer also displays which repeat the cursor is on
(See page 20).

If Options / Floating Windows for Palette etc has been ticked, the Pointer Position window can be
moved away from the workspace as long as DesignaKnit is not in Full screen mode. Unticking this
option brings the Pointer Position window back within the workspace.

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The "Pointer position"

window provides useful
information about which
colours or stitch symbols
are active and associated
with which mouse
buttons. Leaving it on the
screen while in drawing
mode is a quick and easy
reminder of this. The focus (See page 224) can very quickly be toggled between colours and stitch symbols
by pressing the "Ctrl" and "Shift" keys together. The effect this has on both Pointer position window and
Palette can be seen in the image, where the DesignaKnit focus has changed from Colour in the first to
Symbol in the second set. Pointer position coordinates are not shown here because the mouse was not
actually hovering over the stitch pattern.

Clicking the RMB on any of

the 'buttons' of the mouse
pointer quickly toggles
between the colour and
stitch symbol associated
with it.
In the first image on the left,
three colours are each
associated with a different
mouse button and have the focus. Three stitch symbols are also associated with the three mouse buttons,
but are not active, as shown by the smaller white square on each of them. The second image shows what
happens when the mauve and pink buttons have been right clicked. This swaps them to the stitch symbol
that is associated with the same button. The blue colour has not been right clicked yet, but will swap to the
Knit stitch symbol as soon as it is clicked, as it is associated with the LMB as shown by the small white
square.

Clicking the LMB on a colour in the pointer position

window, or double clicking on a colour in the palette
opens the "Colour adjustment" window in which the
colour can be changed or fine tuned by changing its
values (See on page 470) directly, without first
accessing the Colour setup palette.
Clicking "Apply" allows previewing the adjustment in
the stitch pattern, while "OK" will accept it as a
permanent change. "Cancel" abandons any
changes, reverting to the original colour.

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If the menu option View / Pointer Position in Shape is

switched on, or the relevant Top Toolbar button is clicked,
an additional box, such as the one shown on the left,
appears on the screen if a shape file piece has been
selected (See on page 184). In this case the "FRONT -
LEFT" of a garment piece was already associated with the
stitch pattern.
The Pointer Position is reflected for the active shape file
piece.
In addition to the Left (L12) and Right (R2) stitch and Row
(17) position indicators within the single pattern repeat, the
Pointer Position window shows which pattern repeat the
cursor (white hand) is on, which in this case is the second
pattern repeat from the left (2:) and the fourth repeat from
the bottom (4:).
The garment piece window reflects where the cursor is in the pattern in relation to the shape file and not to
a single pattern repeat. In this case the "cm" box was ticked to show centimetres.

If left blank the pointer position window shows the coordinates in

stitches from the left and right and rows from the bottom within the
confines of the shape, as shown on the left.
The cursor in the shape piece and the "+" character in the pointer
window (see red circles) represent the same position in the active
shape file piece, with the pointer window indicating the exact
position.

Palettes
The "Yarns + Stitch Symbols" palette that is
shown here contains both the colours and the
stitch symbols that are used in the current stitch
pattern. The palette can be moved to any position
on the workspace by clicking, holding and
dragging the title bar (see blue arrow).
The size and appearance can be changed by
hovering the mouse over one of the corners (see
blue circle) then clicking, holding and dragging it
into the desired shape, as was done here to arrive
at one row of colours and stitch patterns, rather
than two or more. The size and appearance can
be reset tot he default by using the Palettes /
Reset Palette menu option.
If the window becomes too small to display all the options in the toolbar, red triangles appear to indicate
there are more options (see red circle), and can be clicked on to expand the palette to the size necessary to
display all information.

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Clicking the "Yarn colour palette" or "Stitch symbols palette" (see red arrows) will hide or display colours
and stitches respectively, keeping the palette uncluttered. The palette can be hidden by clicking the "x" in
the top right of its window, and redisplayed by clicking the relevant buttons in the Top Toolbar, or selecting
the View / Yarn Colour palette and View / Stitch Symbols palette menu options.
The palettes contain a lot of useful information about the stitch pattern on the workspace. Saving the stitch
pattern will automatically save all the associated palettes with it. A Palette can also be saved in its own right
in order to be used at a later time, with a different stitch pattern (See also Palettes on page 223).

If Options / Floating Windows for Palette etc has been ticked, the Palette can be moved away from the
workspace as long as DesignaKnit is not in Full screen mode. Unticking this option brings the Palette
window back within the workspace.

Right Click Workspace

Right clicking on the workspace provides a quick
and often more convenient method of accessing a
selection of options that would otherwise be
accessed through toolbar buttons or menu options.
"Draw a selection box" (See page 28), "Show the
Untagged Selection Box" (See page 28) and "Show
the Tagged Selection Box" (See page 29) can all be
accessed from the Top Toolbar. "Cut" (See page
38), "Copy" (See page 39) and "Paste" (See page
39) are in the Edit menu.
The pop up box appears to the right of the mouse cursor when clicked, exactly as shown in the image. If
this location is inconvenient a different one may be chosen by right clicking elsewhere on the workspace.

Colour Scheme
The colours that are used for the outlines of various elements of the DesignaKnit workspace can be
changed to individual requirements. The settings are saved with the stitch pattern and apply to each one
individually, as different colours may be needed to stand out from the pattern itself. The Colour Scheme
can be changed in Options / Colour Scheme, from where each element can be accessed separately.

Each Colour Scheme is saved with the stitch pattern in which it was altered.

When any of the elements is selected for change, a dialogue

is presented with the current colour displayed in the centre
and two sets of colour values either side that show the make
up of it in Hue, Saturation and Luminance (HSL) and in Red,
Green and Blue components (RGB). More information can be
found in RGB and HSL (See page 470).
Values may be typed directly into the boxes if they are known,
or changed by using the small up and down triangles next to
each item. The colour that is shown in the middle reflects the changes immediately. When the "Apply"
button is clicked, the changes are applied to the stitch pattern, while the dialogue stays open to make more
changes. If the "OK" button is clicked, the colour is applied and the dialogue is closed. The colour scheme
will be saved with the stitch pattern when it is saved.

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All the options that can be changed are shown in the image on the
left. Each option shows the currently selected colour, making it
easy to see if colours are too alike for the different elements.

All elements need to have their own colour. For example,

Screen Background and Selection Box cannot both be white.

The "Differentiate Colours Automatically" option is supplied to

check that the chosen colours are sufficiently different to be shown
clearly against the background and the yarn colours of the chosen
stitch pattern. Distinguishing yarn colours from the background is
especially important for the "Yarns" window in Interactive Knitting,
as a single strand of yarn colour may be drawn against a
background colour and needs to be visible.
If the "Differentiate" option is unticked, any colour scheme changes can be made and DesignaKnit will not
check any further.
Ticking the "Differentiate" option after the colour scheme has been changed will check for colours that are
deemed too similar, based on mathematical differences of the RGB values, and amend them if necessary.

If the "Differentiate Colours Automatically"

option is ticked, DesignaKnit will check as
changes are being made to see if the choices
are suitable for the current stitch pattern. If
colours are too similar and would not stand out,
the informational message as shown on the right will appear and the colour will be adjusted to whatever
DesignaKnit deems a better choice on clicking "OK".

Differentiate Colours
Automatically
As an example, part of a
stitch pattern is shown on the
left (1) with a white selection
box, against a white screen
background, which can only
be achieved if the option to
"Differentiate Colours
Automatically" has been
unticked. Although the handles of a tagged selection box will 'disappear' against the white screen
background, they are still available for use, as can be seen by the double sided arrow that appears when
the cursor is hovered over where the handle is expected (see blue circle).
As soon as "Differentiate Colours Automatically" is ticked, the selection box colour is changed to grey to
stand out against the white screen background (2). In this example, the grey for Screen Background has
turned out fairly dark in image (2) because one of the pattern colours is also grey. After changing the yarn
colour to a darker grey, the Screen Background colour adjusts to a much lighter grey when Options / Colour
Scheme is next accessed to either change one of the elements or untick and tick the "Differentiate Colours
Automatically" option (3).
Depending on the colours that are used in the stitch pattern, these settings may need to be played with a
little for an optimal result if the "Differentiate Colours Automatically" is not used.

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All elements of the Colour Scheme, except the selection box, have been shown in the image below,
pointing to the exact lines that are affected.

Screen Background -
This is the background of
the DesignaKnit
workspace outside the
stitch pattern. This option
also influences the
appearance of the "Piece
Overview" window in
Interactive Knitting
where the stitch pattern
is shown.
Palette Background -
As the palette resizes to
fit snugly around all the
colours and stitch
symbols on it, its
background is not really
visible as such, although
it peeks through in the
divisions between each
colour and symbol.
Shown here in pink, it is generally a dark grey.
Pattern Boundary - This is the boundary of one pattern repeat. When more repeats are shown on the
workspace, a boundary will be shown around each one.
Grid + Cables - The colour that is selected in this option applies to the grid lines and cables (if they are
present) in the pattern and are visible in Grid view. The default is black, but the lines may be lightened if the
pattern contains so many stitches and rows that it interferes with viewing. Lightening these lines can
appear to lighten the entire pattern, although this is an optical illusion. RGB values of 120, 120, 120 result in
grey grid lines which, although still clearly visible, do not overpower the stitch pattern.
Grid Divisions - The grid can be divided into larger chunks of stitches and rows to facilitate viewing the
pattern against a grid. If there are so many stitches and rows in a pattern that the grid becomes too
cluttered, the grid division lines might be set at say 3 or 5 stitches, the grid switched off and Grid Divisions
viewed instead. The Divisions start at row one, from the bottom up.
Selection Box - The Selection Box and Screen Background need to be different to each other and if they
are too similar, the Selection Box setting takes precedence when the "Differentiate Colours Automatically"
option is ticked. Changing this colour affects both the tagged and untagged selection box.
Pattern Check Marks - The marks (horizontal or vertical lines) that appear if there are errors in the pattern,
when the Check option (See on page 59) is activated are displayed in this colour.

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As the stitch pattern can become very 'busy' with all the elements shown, the
same pattern with the four repeats has been shown on the left with the Grid
and Grid Division lines unticked. The boundary lines are still visible to show
the boundaries of each repeat.
Current Pattern Piece - This is visible only when a shape file is associated
with the stitch pattern file (See on page 178) and pieces of it are displayed on
the workspace. The piece that is currently being worked on will be outlined in
this colour.
Other Pieces - This is visible only when a shape file is associated with the
stitch pattern file and pieces of it are displayed on the workspace. Pieces that are on the workspace, but not
actively worked on will be outlined in this colour.
The red and green outlines of shape file pieces are more easily seen, one of which marks the "Current
Pattern Piece" and the other "Other Pieces". The View options can be switched on and off to gain the most
optimal view of a stitch pattern at any time.
The colours that have been applied in the images above have been shown in the images below, to provide
an idea of the possibilities and various settings of the HSL and RGB values.

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Buttons and Menus

Top Toolbar 25
Left Toolbar 31
Menus 36

The buttons that are available for use are clearly displayed and coloured in while those that cannot be used
at this time will be greyed out. In general, clicking a button activates it until the Esc key is pressed or it is
clicked on again to switch it off, although some buttons are activated for one action only.

Top Toolbar
This table lists all of the buttons across the top of the program window. Where appropriate page references
are provided to sections in the manual for further explanation.

Button Description

The Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons allow zooming in and out of the stitch pattern file.
Each click on either button zooms in or out by increasing or decreasing the width of each
stitch by one pixel. As the stitches cannot always be shown in the correct pixel aspect
the zooming is not always proportional. The further zoomed in, the more pixels per stitch
there are and the more accurate the aspect ratio becomes.
If a Selection Box is present on the stitch pattern, clicking the Zoom into the Selection
box button will zoom into it so that the pattern can be worked on easily. DesignaKnit will
optimize the view such that the selection box as well as a certain amount of border
around it are visible.
If repeats of a stitch pattern are displayed the Zoom out so that all repeats are visible
can be clicked to display as much of the design as possible. If the number of pattern
repeats is high there is a good overview of the resulting fabric, if there are few or no
repeats shown, the pattern can be worked on easily as each stitch is clearly visible.

The View position of pointer button toggles the display of the Pointer position (See
page 18). The pointer shows which colours and stitch symbols are associated with
which mouse button. In the image on the left the 'tuck stitch' symbol is linked to the left
mouse button (LMB). The mouse buttons are referred to as RMB, MMB and LMB (right,
middle and left mouse button) throughout the manual. If Options / Floating Windows for
Palette etc has been activated, the pointer window can be moved outside the Desig-
naKnit program window. Unticking the same menu option moves it back into the Desig-
naKnit workspace.

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Button Description

When the View Horizontal Ruler button is clicked a

horizontal ruler is placed along the bottom of the workspace.
It can be moved by clicking and holding anywhere on it and
dragging it to the desired location, making it easy to
measure the stitch pattern. The measurements are viewed
in the units that are set in Options / Units of Measurement
and can be toggled easily by clicking on the "cm" or "S" (see
blue arrows).
The same is true for the View Vertical Ruler button, which
is initially placed at the right hand side of the workspace. An
'R' will be displayed on the ruler for rows instead of stitches if the unit of measurement is
changed. The position of the rulers is remembered by the program for that session, so
they can be toggled on and off without losing the placement of them.
During dragging of the rulers, the units buttons (see blue arrows) are temporarily hidden
so they do not get in the way of the work.
The four buttons shown on the left can all be used in different combinations to change
the view of the stitch pattern on the workspace. They have corresponding menu options
in the View menu (View / Grid, View / Fabric Texture, View / Yarn Colours and View /
Stitch Symbols). "Grid" and "Fabric Texture" are toggled and only one of them can be
active. Either "Yarn Colours", "Stitch Symbols" or both can be selected. At least one of
them is active. If Memo numbers (See page 238) or Yarn Symbols (See page 242) have
been chosen for display in the View menu, one or other of these will be shown on the
pattern instead of the stitch symbols.
Each of these four buttons is explained separately below.
The View a Stitch Grid button can be toggled on and off to display the stitch pattern
with or without the stitch grid lines in the background. Grid lines are very useful while
working with the individual stitches, but for an overall view of the pattern it is helpful to be
able to switch them off. If the View / Grid Divisions menu option is ticked the division
lines will remain visible whether this button is ticked or not. The button remains active
until it is unticked and the settings will apply to any pattern that is subsequently opened.
The appearance of the grid, grid lines, divisions and boundaries can be changed to suit
individual needs (See on page 21).

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Button Description

The View
Stitch Fabric
Texture button
can be toggled
to display the
pattern in
'fabric texture'
view to get a
good idea of how the actual knitted fabric will look. To illustrate, the stitch pattern shown
here was displayed with "Grid" on, "Grid" off, "Fabric Texture" and lastly a little section
was zoomed in to show the effect of stitch symbols in Fabric Texture view. Any stitch
symbols with an associated fabric texture view, such as purl or knit, will be shown as
texture. If a stitch symbol is not associated with a fabric texture view it will be displayed
as a blurred stitch or if View / Stitch Symbols is selected either in the menu or on the Top
Toolbar the symbol itself will be superimposed. The view will remain active until the
button is unticked and the settings will apply to any pattern that is subsequently opened.

View Yarn colours in the

pattern can be toggled on and
off to gain a clear view of the
applied stitch symbols, as is
shown in the sequence on the
left. The first and second image are in 'Fabric Texture' view, in the second one the colour
view was switched off. The third and fourth image of the same piece of stitch pattern are
both shown with colours switched off; the last image also has the grid switched off. The
symbol for purl stitches is "." and this is what is displayed because colours and stitch
symbols cannot both be switched off. This button can be used to simplify the stitch
pattern view in such a way that it becomes easy to troubleshoot issues. This button is
activated for each stitch pattern that is subsequently opened.
Ticking the View Stitch Symbols in the pattern button will toggle the display of the
KnitWrite© font stitch symbols on the pattern to display the actual stitch symbols that are
used. Detailed information on the KnitWrite© font can be found in KnitWrite© (See page
251). If 'Fabric Texture' view is active the stitches will be displayed as knitted stitches
where possible, or as non specific indications if there is no texture available, while in
'Grid' view the symbols will be displayed. This button will remain active until it is
unticked.

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Button Description

View the palette of yarn colours (first icon) can be toggled to display the yarn colour
palette on the workspace while View the palette of stitch symbols (second icon) can
be toggled to display the stitch symbol palette on the workspace. The palettes display
the colours and symbols as they are present in the setup of the palette and any colours
or stitch symbols can easily be picked up by clicking one of the mouse buttons on the
desired option. More information on the behaviour of the palettes can be found in
Palettes (See page 20). Click the colour or stitches symbol on the left for more inform-
ation. If Options / Floating Windows for Palette etc has been activated, the palette
window can be moved outside the program window. Unticking the same menu option
moves it back into the workspace.
The View the palette of stitch cables button presents those cables that are currently
included in this palette. Which of the many cables are included depends on which ones
are chosen in the Cables Organizer, which can be accessed either from this box by
clicking the "+" key or in the menu by going to Palettes / Cables Organizer. Whether
cables are possible depends on the knitting method. If the method is not compatible an
error message will appear and DesignaKnit offers the opportunity to change the knitting
method. If Options / Floating Windows for Palette etc has been activated, the Cables
window can be moved outside the DesignaKnit program window. Unticking the same
menu option moves it back into the DesignaKnit workspace (See also Stitch Cables on
page 302).
The Draw a Selection Box button is used to draw a box on the screen to which editing
tasks such as cut, copy, paste, Pencil, Brush, Flood Fill, Lettering etc. can be applied. A
selection box limits the area to which an editing task is applied. Once drawn the box can
be hidden, shown, resized and repositioned. After this button is clicked the mouse can
be clicked anywhere on the workspace, held and dragged until the desired size has
been achieved. This will deactivate the "Draw a Selection Box" button and activate the
"Show the Untagged Selection Box" button next to it. Clicking the button again allows a
new selection box to be drawn. This option can also be accessed by right clicking
anywhere on the workspace and selecting the appropriate option (See on page 71).
The Show the Untagged Selection Box button is activated immediately after a selec-
tion box has been drawn and can be clicked to hide or display the selection box that is in
use at the time. When it is displayed, the selection box can be used. Moving an
untagged selection box around the workspace moves all opaque colours and stitch
symbols within it, overwriting the area where it is released and leaving the RMB colour
and main background stitch in the area that it leaves behind. This option can also be
accessed by right clicking anywhere on the workspace and selecting the appropriate
option from the menu that appears.

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Button Description

Ticking the Show the Tagged Selection Box

button will display the current selection box on the
workspace with handles. Each of the 'tag' handles
can be hovered over, resulting in a double sided
arrow (see red circle) that can be clicked, held and
dragged to the desired size. The handle in the middle of the box can be used to grab and
move the entire box. Resizing can only be done with a tagged selection box. If a selec-
tion box needs to be repositioned, the Tagged option is best as this will only move the
selection box, without affecting the contents of the stitch pattern.

The View selection box position and dimensions button will

display information regarding the current selection box in an
easy to view pictorial format. Whether centimetres or inches
are displayed is dependent on the setting in Options / Units of
Measurement. The "cm" (or "ins") box (see red circle) can be
ticked or unticked. If it is unticked DesignaKnit displays the size
in stitches by rows, which in this example would be 11 stitches
by 4 rows. This option can also be accessed by right clicking
anywhere on the workspace and selecting the appropriate
option.
The same information is displayed in the information space below the workspace when
the cursor is hovered over any of the handles of the tagged selection box.
The Select piece(s) to display button allows pieces of a shape file to be selected for
integrating with the active stitch pattern. Depending on whether a shape file is already
open, DesignaKnit presents the thumbnails view of shape files from which one can be
selected, or a list of the pieces in the shape file. If pieces are already displayed on the
active stitch pattern, clicking this button will first hide them, then present the list of pieces
to select from on the second click. The way the pixels are handled means that the
display cannot always be shown perfectly, unlike the display in Original Pattern Drafting
which is true to proportion. In Stitch Designer the shape is matched to the stitch pattern
rather than the other way around (See also Working with Shape Files on page 178).
The Display All Pieces button will place the outlines of all the pieces of the associated
shape file on top of the stitch pattern, creating as many repeats of the pattern as is
necessary and adjusting the zoom level automatically to be able to fit everything on the
workspace. Clicking this option will superimpose all the shape's garment pieces on the
stitch pattern, regardless of whether only one was selected by using the "Select Piece(s)
to display" button. The "Grid", "Fabric Texture", "Colour" and "Stitch Symbol" Top
Toolbar buttons can be toggled off and on to gain a clearer view of the position of the
garment pieces.

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Button Description

The Move Piece button can be used to reposition the currently active garment piece. A
piece can be made active by clicking on it while the "Move Piece" button is selected after
which either using the arrow keys on the keyboard can be used to move the piece (one
pixel at a time) or the piece can be clicked on, held and dragged to the desired location.
Double clicking on a garment piece while it is on the stitch pattern on the workspace will
make it active and activate the "Move Piece" button at the same time. The cursor will
change to the four arrows cursor as shown in the icon on the left. "Move Piece" will
remain active until the button is unticked, "Esc" is used on the keyboard or until the
cursor is clicked outside any of the garment pieces (See also Positioning on page 182).
Once the pieces have been positioned over the stitch pattern as wanted, the Cut pieces
out of pattern button can be clicked to visually cut away the area outside, thereby
'removing' excess stitch pattern from the edges and displaying only the garment piece
(s) with stitch pattern. Activating any of the drawing tools will switch off this feature.

Clicking the View position of pointer in

active pattern piece places a window
on the workspace of the active piece in
which shape information is provided. In
this case the piece is called BACK and
the (5:23) in the title bar refers to the
position of the bottom left hand corner in
relation to the stitch pattern, as can be
seen in the second image. This inform-
ation can be used to line up garment pieces exactly with the stitch patterns for precisely
knitted garments. The position of the cursor "+" is 2.0 centimetres from the left edge,
33.7 centimetres from the right edge and 14.5 centimetres from the bottom edge of the
garment piece. As the Units of measurements are centimetres in this case, the measure-
ments are in this unit. Had the "cm" box been unticked then the measurements would
have been displayed in stitches and rows.
The Close the shape file button is active if a shape file is open in Stitch Designer, other-
wise it is greyed out. If a shape file is open and the Original Pattern Drafting or Standard
Garment Styling program button is clicked, the shape file would still be open on the
workspace in those sections. If a shape file is closed by clicking the Top Toolbar button
(or the Shapes / Close Shape File menu option), clicking the Original Pattern Drafting or
Standard Garment Styling would result in a blank workspace in those sections.
If the Check the pattern for errors button is ticked any errors in the pattern will be
shown as they are made. Clicking this button displays a dialogue from which various
options can be clicked and checked. This option can also be accessed by clicking Check
on the menu (See also Check on page 59).

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Left Toolbar
This table lists all of the buttons on the left hand side of the workspace. Where appropriate links are
provided to the manual for further explanation. The buttons are grouped together according to their
function.

Button Description

Clicking the Open existing stitch pattern button opens the Thumbnails view of the
program where an existing stitch pattern file can be selected. The same option can be
accessed by using File / Thumbnails or by pressing "Ctrl-T" on the keyboard. The
thumbnails show information about name, creation date, method of knitting and the
number of stitches and rows in the pattern. The available stitch patterns can be
zoomed in and out, searched and sorted through using the different options available
(See on page 433).
Clicking the Save the current stitch pattern button will save the work using the name
already given. This overwrites the existing file without prompting. The same option can
be accessed by using File / Save or pressing "Ctrl-S" on the keyboard. If the work has
not been saved yet the option is given to name the stitch pattern and save it to a
location of choice. The default location is the stitch pattern folder. Stitch patterns as
well as palette files can be saved in this way (See on page 63).
The Printouts of Stitch Patterns button opens a dialogue from where different
printouts can be selected. The same screen can be accessed using the File / Print
option on the menu or pressing "Ctrl-P" (See on page 64).
Clicking the Help on Stitch Designer Tools button opens this table with descriptions
of all buttons and menus. There are various ways of getting help in the program, this
being one of them. Context sensitive help is also provided by "Help" or "?" buttons in
the various dialogues. The Help button from the menu across the top gives options to
view or print the manual, as well as search through the contents or the index (See on
page 51).
The Undo button will undo previous actions that have been performed, up to 20 levels!
This allows the user to try out different actions without being committed to them immedi-
ately. Undo can also be achieved by using the keyboard short cut "Ctrl-Z", or by using
the menu option Edit / Undo. If the button is greyed out the option is unavailable.
The Redo button will redo previously performed Undo actions. Up to 20 actions are
remembered by DesignaKnit. Redo can also be achieved by using the keyboard short
cut "Ctrl-Y", or by using the menu option Edit / Redo. If the button is greyed out the
option is unavailable.
Using the Cut button (See page 76) places the selected area into the clipboard.
Depending on what mode Stitch Designer is in, whether the selected area contains
colours, symbols or both, and whether the "Extract the stitch symbols and copy them to
the Clipboard as text" or "Copy the selected pattern area as a bitmap" was clicked (See
page 77), either colours or symbols will be copied to the clipboard, filling the area that
is left behind with the main background stitch or the right mouse button (RMB) colour.
The selected area is removed and can be pasted.

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Button Description

Using the Copy button (See page 76) places the selected area into the clipboard
without changing the pattern. This option can also be accessed by using Edit / Copy on
the menu, pressing "Ctrl-C" on the keyboard or right clicking the workspace and
selecting the option from the list.
Clicking the Paste button (See page 79) places the contents of the clipboard into the
current stitch pattern. Alternatively the menu option Edit / Paste can be used, "Ctrl-V"
or the "Paste" option can be selected from the right click window. If the "Paste" button
is greyed out there is either nothing in the clipboard or the contents are incompatible
with DesignaKnit. Stitch symbols can only be pasted back into DesignaKnit if the option
to "Extract the stitch symbols and copy them to the Clipboard as text" was selected
during Cut or Copy. Text from other sources will be converted to the KnitWrite© font
and the characters will be added to the palette if they are not yet present.
The Yarn colour setup button can be clicked in the Left Toolbar or in the Palette if it is
open. From here the colours for the current stitch pattern can be selected, added,
deleted and organised. Once done the palette can be saved as a palette for future use,
or saved with the stitch pattern. Stitch symbols and colours are combined into the
same palette to make it easy to pick up either stitches or colours with the mouse while
designing the pattern (See on page 234).
The Symbols Organizer button can be clicked in the Left Toolbar or in the Palette if it
is open. All stitch symbols to be used in the current pattern can be selected to be
displayed on the palette. The symbols are taken from the KnitWrite© font that is
installed with DesignaKnit. Stitch symbols and colours are combined into the same
palette to make it easy to pick up either stitches or colours with the mouse while
designing the pattern (See on page 243).
The Cables Organizer button can be clicked to select the cables that are needed in
the current stitch pattern. As cables are not always used in stitch patterns they are
organised in a palette of their own. One of the 168 cables supplied with DesignaKnit
can be added to the palette or a custom cable may be designed, should the particular
variation not be available. Selecting only the cables needed for a particular design
makes it simpler to choose (See on page 302).
If a tablet and stylus are present the Trace button can be used to trace over a design
that is placed on the tablet. This extends the range of patterns that can drawn onto the
DesignaKnit workspace. The stylus, much more than a mouse, allows for precise
drawing and the movements will be transferred to the workspace. For a detailed
description of the process (See on page 105).
The Lettering button can be clicked to incorporate characters into the stitch design,
such as can be used in Intarsia patterns (See on page 108).
When the Lace tool button is clicked the program will enter the 'Lace drawing' mode
which will change the cursor and enable lace sequences to be drawn (See on
page 328).

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Button Description

The Bird's-eye button is used to create a visual effect of a third colour, while only using
two yarns. By using a different colour for each alternate stitch, and alternating them
row for row, a kind of blended colour effect is created which from a distance (Bird's-
eye) looks like a third separate colour.
Use a Fill Pattern can be clicked to 'load' drawing tools with a previously saved
pattern. This can be very effective if an area of the stitch pattern on the workspace
needs to be filled with a smaller repeating design.
The Mirrors button can be clicked several times to cycle through different options,
ranging from no mirror, to mirroring diagonally in all directions. The stitches that are on
the screen in a selection box will be mirrored accordingly when the selection box is
clicked on while displaying the cursor as a little hand. In this way it is quick and easy to
create a symmetrical stitch pattern. The mirroring state can be cycled through in
reverse order by holding down the "Ctrl" key while clicking the button. The Mirror tool
can be deactivated by pressing the "Esc" key or by bringing it back to the first state.
The Shuffle button is used to shuffle the pattern in any direction that is clicked on, one
row or stitch at a time. This enables a quick and easy way of moving all the colours or
stitches to a different place, while keeping them together.
The Redefine (Crop or Expand the pattern) button can be used to define an area of the
stitch pattern on the workspace as a single pattern repeat. It can be used to create
stitch patterns of a specific size by drawing a selection box to the required size and
using Redefine to cut away whatever is outside the selection box. The Redefine button
is greyed out and not available unless a selection box is shown on the workspace or
the stitch pattern is repeated at least once. This function can also be accessed by
using the menu option Edit / Redefine.
Clicking on the "+" or "-" in the Define the number of pattern repeats button will add
to or reduce the number of pattern repeats on the workspace by one in the direction of
the symbol that is clicked on. This can be used to view more or fewer pattern repeats in
order to get either an overview of the finished fabric, or a detailed view of one repeat.
This setting is remembered for the next time only when the pattern is saved. The menu
option View / Repeats can also be used.

Rows and stitches can be added to the stitch pattern by using the Insert button.
After clicking the "+" button the cursor can be moved to the stitch pattern, where its
appearance changes to a little white arrow with a "+" as shown. The arrow and "+" sign
will be shown against any background that is active at the time (which in this case was
fabric texture view). The point of the arrow is the active part. After clicking it on the
stitch pattern it can be held and dragged to mark the number of rows or stitches that
need to be added. If rows need to be added this is done by using the LMB, if stitches
(columns) need to be added this is done by using the RMB when clicking in the pattern.
The button stays active until it is clicked again or "Esc" has been pressed (See on
page 87).

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Button Description

Rows and stitches can be deleted from the stitch pattern by using the Delete
button. After clicking the "-" button the cursor can be moved to the stitch pattern, where
its appearance changes to a little white arrow with a "-" as shown. After clicking it on
the stitch pattern it can be held and dragged to mark the area that needs to be deleted.
If rows need to be deleted this is done by using the LMB, if stitches (columns) need to
be deleted this is done by using the RMB when clicking in the pattern. The button stays
active until it is clicked again or "Esc" has been pressed (See on page 87).
The Drag a motif Lasso button can be used to pick up contiguous colour or stitch
symbol motifs in order to place them elsewhere in the pattern. Part of the stitch pattern
can be picked up in this way without using a selection box and cut, copy, paste actions.
The lasso provides a quick way to 'stamp' part of the stitch pattern repeatedly, even
allowing flipping of the selection horizontally or vertically. The Lasso tool stays active
until it is clicked again or "Esc" is pressed on the keyboard (See on page 88).

Lines can be drawn, or single stitches filled by using the Pencil tool. When
the tool is clicked two more options appear below the Drawing tools. The
first one allows free hand drawing, leaving gaps in the lines drawn if the
cursor is moved quickly, the second draws a continuous line irrespective of the speed
of the cursor when it is drawn. The Pencil is active until it is clicked again, or "Esc" is
pressed on the keyboard, or another tool is chosen(See on page 94).

Clicking the Brush tool allows painting the stitch pattern in much the
same way as the Pencil tool, but it is not limited to one stitch width. The
brush will fill in all the stitches that are touched when moving the cursor
around. The size of the brush can be chosen from the selection box that
opens underneath the Drawing tools as soon as the Brush button is
clicked. The Brush is active until it is clicked again, or "Esc" is pressed
on the keyboard, or another tool is chosen (See on page 95).
The Eraser button is used to replace the RMB colour or stitch symbol with the LMB
colour or vice versa in order to selectively change the stitch pattern. Eraser affects only
the colours or stitch symbols that are associated with the right or left mouse buttons.
Eraser is active until it is clicked again, or "Esc" is pressed on the keyboard, or another
tool is chosen (See on page 95).
The Line tool is used to draw as straight a line at a 45° angle on the pattern as
possible. Drawing with the LMB, RMB or MMB will apply colours or stitch symbols
associated with those buttons.
The Curve tool introduces a host of predefined designs which can be selected, manip-
ulated and used. This option makes it easy to design different shapes. After using the
curve handles in the predefined shape to manipulate it to the desired effect it can be
accepted onto the workspace where it becomes part of the stitch pattern. Clicking the
Curve button again or pressing "Esc" during the manipulation process deactivates it
and deletes the shape from the workspace. For more detailed information (See page
96).

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Button Description

Flood Fill is used to fill an area of the stitch pattern with a colour or stitch symbol.
When clicked on the button is active until it is clicked again, "Esc" is pressed on the
keyboard or another function is used.
The Rectangle tool is used to draw rectangles and squares on the workspace. After
clicking the tool a sub selection of options appears below the drawing tools. Whether a
shape is open or filled depends on the options selected (See on page 103).
The Ellipse tool is used to draw ellipses or circles on the workspace. After clicking the
tool a sub selection of options appears below the drawing tools. Whether a shape is
open or filled depends on the options selected (See on page 104).
The Dropper button is used to identify a colour, stitch symbol or cable type in the
pattern and allocate a mouse button to it if so desired (See on page 105).

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Menus
File 36
Edit 38
View 40
Zoom 43
Modify 44
Palettes 45
Check 46
Shapes 47
Transfer 49
Options 50
Help 51

A screenshot of each of each drop down menu is shown with the relevant options explained in a table
below it. Where appropriate page references have been provided for more in depth explanations.

File

File Explanation

When starting a stitch pattern File / New Pattern Setup can be used in order to
New Pattern
control all the options from scratch. Various dialogues will be presented in turn to
Setup
facilitate the process (See on page 53).
New from Starts a new stitch pattern using the DesignaKnit default settings (See on
Default page 57).
New from Starts a new stitch pattern based on the properties of the stitch pattern that is
Current currently on the workspace. (See on page 58).
Opens a selection window from which an existing stitch pattern, palette or graphic
file can be chosen. Thumbnails display information as well as small images of the
Thumbnails
file contents. This option can also be accessed on the Left Toolbar or by pressing
"Ctrl-T" (See on page 433).
As well as the Thumbnails view DesignaKnit offers the possibility of opening a
Open Stitch
stitch pattern by using a standard dialogue without the detail of the thumbnails
Pattern
(See on page 437). This option can also be accessed by using "Ctrl-O"
If a stitch pattern file already exists File / Save or "Ctrl-S" will save the file that is
Save open on the workspace without further prompting. The stitch pattern is left on the
screen for further manipulation (See on page 63).
Allows naming of the shape file and placing it in a location of choice. The default
Save As path for saving shape files is "..\Documents \DesignaKnit 9 \Stitch patterns" and
although not recommended, this may be changed.
Clicking File / Delete opens a thumbnails view of the contents of the stitch patterns
Delete
folder from which files can be chosen to delete (See on page 64).

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File Explanation

The default path points

to the default location of
the stitch pattern files.
This is initially set to
"..\Documents \Desig-
naKnit 9 \Stitch
patterns" when Desig-
naKnit is installed, but
Default Folder may be changed here.
If a different default path
is chosen the option to
"Default to the usual
stitch patterns folder" (which is greyed out in the image on the left) becomes avail-
able which will reset the path to the original DesignaKnit setting. Alternatively there
is an option to "Continue using the folder from each previous open or save" as
shown in the image (See on page 410).
The File / Print option opens the "Print Stitch Patterns" dialogue and can also be
Print accessed from the Left Toolbar, or by using "Ctrl-P" to print the work in a variety of
ways (See on page 64).
Clicking File / Exit will close DesignaKnit. If the current file has not been saved, the
Exit
program will prompt to do this (See on page 437).

Underneath "Exit" the five most recently opened files

will be displayed with the most recent at the top. Even
if files have been deleted they may still be visible in
1, 2... 5 this list until sufficient other files have been opened to
replace them. In Stitch Designer the files are either
stitch pattern files or palette files, which can be seen
by the extension that is used.

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Edit

Edit Explanation

This menu option displays the last

action that can be undone (in this case:
Brush) and can undo these up to
Undo twenty levels deep. Alternatively the
Undo button on the Left Toolbar may
be chosen, or "Ctrl-Z". Once one Undo action has been taken, the Redo option
becomes available.
This menu option shows the last Undo action that can be redone and up to twenty
Redo actions can be redone if available. Alternatively the Redo button on the Left
Toolbar may be chosen, or "Ctrl-Y".
This option provides a quick way to select one pattern repeat without having to
carefully drag a box around it. Selecting "Select All" places a tagged selection box
Select All
around the top left pattern repeat if more than one repeat is displayed on the
workspace. The same may be achieved by pressing "Ctrl-A".
Selecting this option will replace the selection on the workspace with the RMB
colour. If no selection box was active all the colours in the entire pattern will be
Clear Yarn
replaced. If a selection box was active, only the colours within the box will be
Colours
replaced by the RMB colour. This option, combined with Edit / Clear Stitch symbols
is quick way to clean up the workspace or parts of it.
Selecting this option will replace the selection on the workspace with the main
stitch, which has no symbol. The main stitch can be Knit or Purl as determined by
the knitting method. If no selection box was active all the stitch symbols in the
Clear Stitch
entire pattern will be replaced, effectively clearing all stitch symbols from the
Symbols
pattern except the main one. If a selection box was active, only the stitch symbols
within the box will be replaced by the main stitch. This option, combined with Edit /
Clear Yarn colours is quick way to clean up the workspace or parts of it.
This option can be used to redefine a single pattern repeat. The option is only avail-
able if a selection box is present on the workspace and / or more than one pattern
repeat. In the case of a selection box Edit / Redefine will cut away everything
Redefine outside of it, leaving just the contents of the selection box on the workspace. In the
case of multiple pattern repeats on the workspace it will merge them into one
pattern repeat. This option can be used to create stitch patterns from parts of other
stitch patterns and save them as new (See on page 84).
The contents of a selection box or a complete pattern can be cut by using the
button on the Left Toolbar, Edit / Cut on the menu, "Ctrl-X" or by clicking the correct
option that appears after right clicking on the workspace. "Cut" places a copy of the
selection on to the Clipboard, replacing the selection by either the colour associ-
Cut
ated with the RMB or by the main background stitch, depending on the mode Desig-
naKnit is in. The contents of the Clipboard can be copied and pasted to another
part of the pattern, to a new stitch pattern file, to DesignaKnit Graphics Studio or
another external program such as Word, Paint etc. (See page 76).

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Edit Explanation

"Copy" is similar to "Cut", with the difference that "Copy" leaves the stitch pattern
as it is and "Cut" removes the selected area and replaces the contents of the
workspace with the RMB colour and / or the main (Knit or Purl) stitch (See page
Copy 76).
If the selection to be cut or copied contains both colours and stitch symbols, a
dialogue will appear to help decide whether the selection is to be treated as bitmap
or text (See page 77).
Using "Paste" will place the clipboard contents in the top left hand corner of the
workspace onto the pattern on the screen. From there it can be picked up by
Paste
clicking the mouse on it and dragged to the desired location. Whatever is pasted
will be repeated over all repeats of the pattern (See page 79).
An image that is cut or copied, whether from within DesignaKnit or an outside
Scaled Paste source, can be pasted in such a way that the result is a different size from the
original (See on page 129).
Motif - A part of a stitch pattern can be selected and exported as a motif to be
worked on separately and / or to be imported into different stitch patterns. Several
small motifs could be created in one larger stitch pattern file and smaller parts of
this selected and exported. This can be a handy way of keeping track and being
Export able to edit small patterns that may or may not be used, but are useful as trials or
for testing out different results (See on page 137).
Palette - A Palette that has been prepared with certain colours and / or stitch
symbols can be exported to be used with different stitch patterns (See on
page 247).
Single Motif - Previously saved or exported stitch patterns can be imported into a
new or existing stitch pattern to create new combinations of existing elements (See
on page 138).
Horizontal (Vertical) Border - A previously exported or saved stitch pattern can
be used to create a horizontal or vertical border in a new or existing stitch pattern
(See on page 140).
Import
Tile - A previously exported or saved stitch pattern can also be used to create an all
over repeated pattern, filling the recipient stitch pattern (See on page 142).
Palette - A previously exported or saved Palette can be imported into a stitch
pattern so that all colours and stitch symbols are exactly as needed. The currently
used palette can be added to or unused colours and stitch symbols can be
removed (See on page 249).
Notes (up to 360 characters) can be kept with each stitch pattern for future refer-
ence. These notes will be printed with the pattern when the Pattern text (See page
69) option is selected in the Print menu. Notes can also be searched on when a
stitch pattern is searched for in Thumbnails view (See on page 435). These notes
Notes
are different and separate from the Notes in the Tension dialogue of shape files
(See page 421). The Stitch Designer notes are attached to stitch pattern files and
the Tension Notes are attached to shape files, such as are used in Original Pattern
Drafting and Standard Garment Styling.

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View

View Explanation

This menu option (or clicking the Top Toolbar button shown on the left) can be
used to switch the display of colours on or off. Yarn colours must be displayed in
order to see Memo numbers (See on page 238) or Yarn colour Symbols (See on
Yarn colours page 242). Ticking this option will automatically display the current colours in the
palette. Unticking this option will hide the colours in the palette as well as in the
stitch pattern. It can be very useful to switch off the display of colours if the stitch
symbols need to be worked on.

This menu option (or clicking the Top Toolbar button shown on the left) can be
used to switch the display of stitch symbols on or off. While in Grid view, the display
of the stitch symbols is simply switched on or off, in Fabric Texture view, the
symbols will either be shown in real or non-specific texture if possible, or the
Stitch Symbols symbol itself will be superimposed on the stitches. Unticking this option will hide
the stitch symbols in the palette as well as in the stitch pattern. If colours are also
hidden, DesignaKnit will switch to the fabric texture view without colours. It can be
very useful to switch off the display of stitch symbols if only colours need to be
worked on.

This menu option can be used to show or hide the yarn colours of the palette.
Yarn Colour Alternatively, the button on the palette itself or on the Top Toolbar (as shown on
palette the left) can be clicked to display or hide the colours. This can be used to simplify
the palette if only stitch symbols are worked with.

This menu option can be used to show or hide the stitch symbols on the
Stitch Symbols palette. Alternatively, the button on the palette itself or on the Top Toolbar (as
palette shown on the left) can be clicked to display or hide the stitch symbols. This can be
used to simplify the palette if only colours need to be worked with.

This menu option opens the stitch cables palette. Cables that are present on
Cables palette the palette can be placed in the stitch pattern. Alternatively, the button on the Top
Toolbar, as shown on the left, can be clicked.

This menu option (or clicking the Top Toolbar button shown on the left) can be
used to switch between Grid and Fabric Texture view. If the pixels per stitch are too
small for the knitted stitch texture to be shown, a warning message will be
Fabric Texture displayed. If stitch symbols which have an associated fabric texture view have
been used, they will be shown as texture. Stitch types without an associated
texture will either display as a blurred cell or the symbols themselves will be super-
imposed onto the fabric. Switching this option on will automatically turn Grid view
off.

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View Explanation

Grid view can be switched on and off using this menu option, or by clicking the
button on the Top Toolbar (shown on the left). The shape of the grid cells (stitches)
Grid matches the current Tension settings. If the number of stitches per 10 centimetres
is equal to the number of rows per 10 centimetres the grid cells will be square, in
other cases they will be rectangular. One grid cell represents one stitch (See on
page 17).
This option toggles the display of the grid divisions. Grid divisions are used to
outline larger areas of the stitch pattern. When the Grid stitch view returns too
many lines (as may be the case with large stitch patterns), it can be helpful to
Grid Divisions
switch the Grid view off and the Grid Divisions on. Each grid division represents an
equal number of stitches and rows, which can be set in Options / Grid Division Size
(See on page 17).
This option places a boundary around one single pattern repeat. If more than one
repeat is on the workspace, clicking this option makes it easy to see where one
Boundary ends and another begins. If multiple pattern repeats need to be redefined into one,
it can be helpful to see the boundary. Its appearance can be changed through
Options / Colour Scheme / Pattern Boundary (See on page 21).

Activates the horizontal ruler. When the ruler is on the workspace it can be
dragged to any position, its units of measurement can be changed by clicking on
Horizontal
the "S" or "cm" / "in" block that is displayed at either end of it to toggle between
Ruler
measuring in stitches or in centimetres or inches, according to the setting in
Options / Units of Measurement. The ruler can also be activated and deactivated
by clicking on the corresponding button in the Top Toolbar.

Activates the vertical ruler. When the ruler is on the workspace it can be
dragged to any position, its units of measurement can be changed by clicking on
Vertical Ruler the "R" or "cm" / "in" block that is displayed at either end of it to toggle between
measuring in rows or in centimetres or inches, according to the setting in Options /
Units of Measurement. The ruler can also be activated and deactivated by clicking
on the corresponding button in the Top Toolbar.

This option displays the symbols, letters or

numbers that have been assigned to yarns by using
the Palettes / Yarn Symbols option. They are
displayed on the stitch pattern as well as on the
Yarn Symbols palette.
Yarn Symbols are not the KnitWrite© (See page
251) Stitch Symbols which are used in the stitch pattern design and charts. Yarn
symbols cannot be displayed at the same time as either Memo or Stitch symbols.
Yarn symbols can also be displayed by clicking repeatedly on the palette option
that is shown in the image on the left (See on page 242).

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View Explanation

This option displays numbers that have been

assigned to yarns by using the Palettes / Memo
option. They are displayed on the stitch pattern as
Memo well as on the palette. Memo numbers cannot be
displayed at the same time as either Yarn symbols
or Stitch symbols. They can also be displayed by
clicking repeatedly on the palette option that is
shown in the image on the left (See on page 238).
Pointer
Position in Toggles the display of the mouse pointer window. Alternatively, the Top
Pattern Toolbar button (shown here on the left) may be clicked (See on page 18).

If a shape file has been associated with the current stitch pattern, using the
Pointer View / Pointer Position in Shape menu option or clicking the button shown on the
Position in left, will display the Pointer position window for the active shape file piece. If a
Shape shape file has not yet been associated with the stitch pattern, DesignaKnit will
present the "Open Shape File" dialogue so that a file can be selected (See on
page 184).

Ticking this menu option (or clicking the corresponding button on the Top
Selection Box Toolbar) opens the selection box viewer with the size and position of the currently
Position active selection box. Whether the selection box was hidden or untagged, it will now
be tagged. If there was no currently active selection box, DesignaKnit will place a
tagged selection box at the last known position.
This option displays the yarns that are in use throughout the pattern, together with
the feeders to which they are allocated, depending on the selected technique and
Yarn Numbers
whether a Colour Changer has been configured. When the Feeders are displayed
& Feeders
a number of the design tools are greyed out as they are incompatible with this
option (See on page 148).

This menu option defines the precise amounts of pattern repeats that are
Repeats required on the workspace by entering horizontal and vertical numbers. Altern-
atively the Repeats button on the Left Toolbar (as shown on the left) can be used to
add one repeat at a time either horizontally or vertically (See on page 86).

This item is only available if a

shape file has been loaded. It will
display the measurements of
each garment piece in stitches
Piece Sizes and rows at their widest and
tallest positions. Pressing the
Esc key on the keyboard, or
clicking "OK" will close this
information window.
This option is responsible for the helpful hints while the cursor is hovered over the
Hints
various buttons and options in the program. It can be toggled on or off here.

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Zoom

Zoom Explanation

Additional to the Zoom buttons on the Top

Toolbar (See page 25) the "Pixels per
stitch" option can be used to set the width of
a stitch to a given number of pixels. This
adjust the magnification level of the stitch
pattern on the workspace. When "Pixels per
stitch" is selected the dialogue as shown on
Pixels per the left is presented with the current zoom
stitch level already selected.
The existing pixel dimensions of a stitch are
displayed in the title bar, such as (23 x 17)
in this example at a Zoom level of 23, where
23 is the given width and 17 is the height
which is calculated automatically from the current tensions.
Selecting a lower number decreases the size of the display of the pattern, a higher
number will increase the size of the display.

Selection Box Either this menu option or the button on the Top Toolbar, shown here, will
zoom into the selection box.

Either the menu option or the Top Toolbar button shown here may be used to
In zoom in to the stitch pattern, increasing the display by one pixel at a time. Altern-
atively, the wheel of the mouse may be used to zoom in or out.

Either the menu option may be used to zoom out of the stitch patter,
Out decreasing the display by one pixel at a time, or the Top Toolbar button, shown on
the left, may be used. Alternatively, the wheel of the mouse may be used to zoom
in or out.

Zooms to show as much of the pattern as can be fitted into the workspace. If
Maximum View there are multiple repeats of the pattern on the workspace, the zoom level will be
set to show as many repeats as can be fitted into it. Alternatively, the Top Toolbar
button, shown on the left, may be used to achieve the same result.

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Modify

Modify Explanation

Using the Shuffle menu option presents a dialogue into which values can be
typed directly to shuffle the pattern up, down, left or right by the number of stitches
Shuffle or rows that are entered. Alternatively, the Shuffle button on the Left Toolbar
(shown on the left) can be used to shuffle one stitch or row at a time, making it
easy to see the effects immediately (See on page 83).
This menu option allows the stitch pattern to be turned clockwise by any number
Turn of degrees between 0 and 360, or anti-clockwise between 0 and -360 degrees
(See on page 163).
Allows the stitch pattern to be resized in different ways. The height and width ratio
may be kept or lost. Rescale also allows adding of blank rows to the stitch pattern
Rescale
in order to produce meaningful charts for use with double bed knitting (See on
page 164).
This menu option allows the stitch pattern to be flipped horizontally and / or vertic-
Flip ally. This is different from the Modify / Turn option as flipping swaps top and
bottom, or right and left side, while Turning rotates the pattern (See on page 164).
DesignaKnit offers a quick way, similar to pressing buttons on the Silver Reed
EC1 unit to manipulate the pattern. By clicking one of the icons that are displayed
Variations after this menu option is chosen, the stitch pattern can be reversed, flipped,
doubled in length or width, mirrored or it can have its knitting method changed
(See on page 167).
Shadows & This menu option provides the ability to add shadows and outlines to the stitch
Outlines pattern, so creating more depth and very pleasing effects (See on page 171).

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Palettes

Palettes Explanation

This menu option accesses yarn colour setup, where colours of the current palette
Yarn Colour
can be added, deleted, modified and organised in different ways. A maximum of
Setup
48 colours can be on the palette (See on page 234).
This menu option accesses the Symbols Organizer in which any stitch symbols
Symbols can be added, removed and organised. The palette can hold a maximum of 48
Organizer symbols, including the non-removable Knit and Purl symbols. The description of
the symbols may be changed to suit individual requirements (See on page 243).
The Cables Organizer can be accessed through this menu option, or by clicking
Cables Organ- on the relevant button on the Left Toolbar. Stitch cables can be selected, modified,
izer added, deleted, organised and placed on the cables palette from here (See on
page 302).
Using this menu option any individual palette can be exported for use in different
Export
stitch patterns (See on page 247).
Previously saved or exported palettes may be imported into the current stitch
Import
pattern using this menu option (See on page 249).
This menu option is used to set up Yarn symbols, which are used in a printed chart
Yarn Symbols to differentiate between the colours that are used in the pattern. Up to 48 Yarn
symbols can be defined in this way (See on page 242).
This menu option is used to set up Memo numbers for the colours that are used in
the stitch pattern. Certain knitting machines can use Memo numbers of a
downloaded pattern and will display them in their console to warn of colour
Memo
changes that are needed. The numbers used are 1 to 9, plus a blank for the main
colour. The same number can be assigned to more than one colour to signify a
colour change (See on page 238).

All the colours in the palette have DesignaKnit

default names. However, they can be changed
to match actual yarn names if needed by using
Colour Names this menu option. The mouse can be clicked in
the name box and a different name can be
typed in, up to a maximum of 15 characters. This name will be saved with the
current stitch pattern, so names for the same colour can be different in each stitch
pattern if necessary.
Vary at This menu option allows changing some or all of the colours of a stitch pattern at
Random random until a pleasing result has been achieved (See on page 170).
This menu option resets the colour and stitch symbol squares of the palette to their
Reset Palette default DesignaKnit size and display the palette with all its current colours and
symbols.

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Palettes Explanation

Stitch symbols and colours can be combined. This is used if, e.g., all Purl
stitches in a stitch pattern would need to be 'Red' and thus combined (See page
228). Purl symbols and the colour 'Red' need to be present in the stitch pattern.
Combine They also need to be clicked in turn with the LMB, in the palette. Going to Palette /
Combine immediately after, or clicking the Combine button on the palette, will
apply both properties. All Purl stitches will now be 'Red', or all 'Red' stitches will
now have a Purl symbol.

Either the menu option Palettes / Replace or the "Replace" button on the
palette will replace the colour or symbol associated with the RMB by the colour or
Replace symbol associated with the LMB. The LMB colour or symbol replaces the colour or
symbol associated with the RMB. Symbols and colours can be mixed. To see a
couple of examples (See page 230).

Either the menu option Palettes / Exchange or the "Exchange" button on the
Exchange palette swaps over the LMB and RMB colours or symbols. It will do so for the selec-
tion box contents or, if no selection box was displayed, for the whole pattern. To
see a couple of examples (See page 230).
This menu option converts the yarn colour associated with the LMB to the stitch
Convert Yarn
symbol associated with the LMB. Convert can be applied to the whole stitch
Colour
pattern or to a selection box. For more detailed information (See page 231).
This menu option converts the stitch symbol associated with the LMB to the colour
Convert Stitch
associated with the LMB. Convert can be applied to the whole stitch pattern or to a
Symbol
selection box. For more detailed information (See page 232).

Check

Check Explanation

This menu option provides several ways of checking the stitch pattern for errors.
DesignaKnit can check continuously for specific errors, or checking can be
Check switched off. The options that can be checked are slightly different for Hand
knitting and Machine knitting. For example, Jacquard checking is not applicable to
Hand knitting and therefore not present in the dialogue (See on page 59).

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Shapes

Shapes Explanation

The Shapes / Thumbnails menu option offers shape files from Original Pattern
Drafting and Standard Garment Styling to be opened. The file opens with the
Thumbnails
active stitch pattern if there is one, otherwise it will be displayed on the
workspace. This option shows thumbnails for easy viewing (See on page 179).
Open Shape This option offers the same files to be opened with the active stitch pattern or on
File the empty workspace, but in a list view.
This menu option allows a shape file to be saved from within Stitch Designer,
Save Shape rather than switching to Original Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment Styling.
This option will overwrite the existing shape file.
Using this option to save the shape file that is associated with the active stitch
pattern offers the "Save As" dialogue in which the shape file can be given a
different name (See on page 462). This option is very useful when matching
Save Shape As
tensions of stitch pattern and shape file and keeping them together (See page
181). It can also be useful to keep a record of different layouts of shapes in
relation to the stitch pattern is needed.
Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment Styling shape files can be
deleted from within Stitch Designer by using this option, which will open the
Delete normal Delete (See page 439) dialogue. If shapes were displayed on the
workspace at the time of accessing the Shapes / Delete option, this action will
hide them from view until Shapes / View Piece(s) is clicked.

This menu option closes the active shape file, while leaving the stitch
pattern on the workspace in the same configuration as it was. If less repeats are
Close Shape required at this point, View / Repeats may be the quickest way to achieve this.
File After closing a shape file it will no longer be open when switching to Original
Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment Styling. The shape file will no longer be
associated with the active stitch pattern and will have to be accessed anew if
needed.
This opens the "Print Pattern Pieces" dialogue from which numerous print
options can be accessed (See on page 372). If changes have been made to the
position of the pieces, the "Save As" dialogue will be offered first to save the
shape file under a different name if wanted.
The stitch pattern can be included in the printout for Shaping as X's, Garment
Picture, Garment Symbols or Integrated Changes as long as stitch pattern and
Print Shapes shape piece are integrated.
Some errors (See on page 59) are incompatible with printing. For example, a
Jacquard stitch pattern that needs to contain an even number of rows. The neces-
sary changes need to be made and saved to both stitch pattern and shape file
before printing can take place. If a different name is chosen for the stitch pattern
at that time, the "Print" section will not know about it until the shape file has been
closed and reopened with the correct stitch pattern on the workspace.

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Shapes Explanation

The Shapes / View Piece(s) menu option presents the "Select pattern
pieces" dialogue (See page 182) from which one or more pieces can be selected.
More than one piece can be selected by holding the "Ctrl" key while clicking on
View Piece(s) each desired piece in turn. The "Shift" key may be used to select a range of
pieces.
Clicking on the Top Toolbar button first hides the shapes if they are shown, then
opens the same box on clicking the second time.

This menu option will place all of the pieces of the current Shape file on the
active stitch pattern, creating as many repeats horizontally and vertically as are
View All Pieces needed.
Clicking the Top Toolbar button will hide or display all of the pieces on the current
Shape file.
The Shapes / Integrate menu option presents the "Integrate" dialogue from which
Integrate stitch patterns can be integrated or unintegrated from Original Pattern Drafting
and Standard Garment Styling shape files (See on page 184).
Cut and Sew is used to create separate stitch patterns for shape file pieces in
order to knit rectangular pieces of fabric into which the outline of the garment
piece is marked with coloured yarn. After the piece is knitted, the shape can be
Cut and Sew
cut out from the fabric. This is usually done by using an Overlocker or Serger
machine, which secures the edges and cuts away excess material (See on
page 187).
AutoChart is first step of producing meaningful knitting instructions for hand
AutoChart knitting. This option fills the area outside of the shape with no-stitch symbols (See
on page 199).
The five most recently opened shape files will be displayed with the most recent
at the top. Closing a shape file has no effect on the display of its name in this
1, 2... 5
position. Opening a different shape file will place the new file at the top and push
the others down in the listing. Once used, the list remains active.

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Transfer

Transfer Explanation

Upload from This menu option allows stitch patterns to be uploaded from a Brother electronic
Knitting knitting machine, a Brother PPD (Pattern Programming Device) or a Silver Reed
Machine PE1 Design Controller (See on page 444).
Patterns that were uploaded from Brother knitting equipment need to be extracted
Extract
before they can be used in DesignaKnit (See on page 446).
Download to
Stitch patterns can be downloaded from DesignaKnit to a variety of electronic
Knitting
knitting machines: Brother, Silver Reed and Passap (See on page 450).
Machine
A stitch pattern can be integrated with a shape file (See on page 184). Integrated
Integrated stitch patterns can be downloaded to the knitting machine console in such a way
Download that the stitch pattern is in the correct relation to the shape file and positioned at
the centre of the needle bed (See on page 455).
The Transfer / Restore menu option is used to put a batch of stitch patterns that
Restore has previously been uploaded to the computer back to a Brother electronic
knitting machine or PPD (See on page 448).
1: Stitch... A maximum of the five last used files will appear here if applicable.

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Options

Options Explanation

Depending on the product level purchased Hand or

Method of Machine knitting can be selected here. If hand knitting is chosen there are
Knitting several options of defining stitch type and knit method. If machine knitting is
selected a wide variety of options is available to customise the settings of knitting
machines and a variety of stitch texture pattern options (See on page 338).

This menu option opens the window

shown on the left in which centimetres or
inches may be specified as the unit to work
with. This is used in e.g., the Tensions
Units of dialogues and the rulers if they are
Measurement switched to a measurement other than
stitches and rows. The selected unit of
measurement will be applied wherever it is
relevant. Changing the setting here will
change it for all sections of DesignaKnit. Changing the setting elsewhere in
DesignaKnit will also change it for Stitch Designer.
Depending on whether a shape file is open in the stitch pattern a basic or
Tensions expanded Tensions dialogue will be presented. Setting the correct tension is
required to achieve the best possible result in knitting (See on page 420).
Grid divisions can be used to outline larger areas of the pattern rather than, or in
Grid Division addition to, the stitch by row grid display. Only one size can be filled in and the
Size grid will be divided according to this size. I.e., if "10" is filled in, the grid division
lines will appear every 10 stitches and rows (See on page 17).
Left-handed The angle of the pencil in the Design Tools can be changed to a more natural
Pencil position for left handed users. It can be switched on and off here.
If this option is ticked, both Palette and Pointer position windows can be moved
Floating
away from the workspace if DesignaKnit is not used in full screen mode. This can
Windows for
be used to create an uncluttered workspace. Unticking this option brings the
Palette etc.
Palette window back within the workspace.
The colours of a lot of elements on the screen can be changed to suit the partic-
ular stitch pattern. If a stitch pattern consists of light colours it can be beneficial to
Colour scheme
have darker coloured grid or boundary lines, or vice versa (See on page 21). The
Colour Scheme menu shows the currently selected colours for each option.

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Help

More information on the Help Options can also be found in Accessing Help (See page 412).

Help Explanation

Launches the on screen version of the Help File which can be browsed and
Contents searched. Hyperlinks, Search and Index can all be used. Information about the
Contents Help file can be found in Contents (See page 414).
Clicking this button provides easy access to the chapter that deals with all the
Cable Links
Cable Links that can be used with knitting machines (See on page 497).
Accesses the printable PDF manual version of the help files. The manual can be
Manual browsed, searched and printed. More information about the PDF Help can be
found in Manual (See page 416).
This button opens the Soft Byte Ltd website from where video tutorial files can be
Tutorials
viewed and / or downloaded (See on page 507).
Web Updates Program, Help and Manuals update are all available from here (See on page 418).
Technical support pops up a window in which all relevant information about the
Technical
program is gathered. Updates and links to national and international distribution
Support
are also here.
Pops up a window with product level, version and licence number as well as links
About
to the Soft Byte Ltd website.
Contains acknowledgements to the contributors of DesignaKnit 9 (See on
Credits
page 510).

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Work Flow (Complete)

Work Flow
Preparation 52
New 53
Open Stitch Pattern 58
Design 58
Check 59
Save 63
Delete 64
Print Stitch Patterns 64
Download 70

From start to finish, creating a stitch pattern needs to go through certain steps to make the process logical
and the result satisfying. The overall work flow has been described here from preparation to starting to
work with stitch patterns. A number of different examples have been described in Examples of Using Stitch
Patterns (See page 208).

Preparation
Each new stitch pattern starts with an idea and a workspace with tools in which various properties can be
selected and fine tuned. The workspace can be thought of as a blank canvas onto which the relevant tools
are gathered before starting to create a masterpiece.
When Stitch Designer is started from the DesignaKnit opening screen it starts with a default "Untitled" stitch
pattern of 40 stitches x 40 rows, a single repeat, light blue background, grid lines and a default palette of
"Yarns + Stitch symbols". Any of these elements can be changed to suit requirements and saved to be
used in future sessions.
When DesignaKnit is closed, certain elements are remembered and when the program is reopened, they
will be displayed as they last were. This applies to the size and position of the palette, method of knitting,
knitting machine that was last chosen, whether the stitch pattern is shown in grid or fabric texture view,
display of the grid.

If the method of knitting is changed to multi colour Jacquard

at the start of the design, an error message such as the one
shown here may appear as there is indeed only one colour
in the pattern at this time.
This message can safely be ignored at this time. However,
when saving the stitch pattern, the number of colours needs to be correct for the method of knitting so the
pattern can be printed and the correct instructions can be generated for Interactive Knitting.
Before starting to design a new stitch pattern a number of decisions needs to be made. What size is the
stitch pattern to be? Will it be used for hand or machine knitting, maybe both? Which knitting method is
needed: Jacquard? Fair Isle? Stocking stitch? Garter stitch? How many and which colours are to be used?
Will there be texture in the pattern? Will the stitch pattern be used for more than one project? And many
more...

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New
New Pattern Setup 53
New from Default 57
New from Current 58

A new stitch pattern can be started in several ways depending on the requirements.

New Pattern Setup

This option allows the most detailed control of the parameters of a new stitch pattern and DesignaKnit
presents various dialogues to facilitate the process. All the options chosen can be changed at a later stage.

When viewing this manual on the

computer, the cursor may be
hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be
clicked on as a quick way of getting
to the relevant section.

Starting DesignaKnit and immediately

going to Stitch Designer presents the
default stitch pattern layout. Pressing
"Ctrl-N" or using the menu option to
create a new stitch pattern starts the
process of deciding on the desired
options. The dialogue shown on the
left will be presented first.
The initial options are derived from the
last known configuration and can be
changed in this window.
Knitting Method - The chosen
Knitting machine is a Silver Reed
SK840 in the example on the left.
When a knitting machine is chosen in
any part of DesignaKnit this selection
is set for the whole of DesignaKnit
until it is changed. Fair Isle and
Stocking stitch were the options
retained from the last stitch pattern
that was saved.
The options can be changed by clicking on "Change knitting method" (See on page 338).
The area that is outlined in red appears only when the "Show Advanced" button is clicked, which then
changes into "Hide Advanced" as shown here (See page 55).

Changing the knitting machine or changing to the hand knitting method changes this option for the
program from then on until it is changed again.

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New stitch pattern size - The current size (existing 40 x 40) is shown to the right of the "Retain the
existing size" option, while a new size is suggested in the "Set size manually" option. The latter is based on
the last size that was entered here. The size is always presented as stitches by rows. It is a good idea to
enter the correct values if known, or an approximation. Stitches and rows can be added or deleted in the
pattern once it is started (See on page 87) but it is more efficient to start with something that is near to the
desired size. The "Set size from a pattern piece" option can be used if the stitch pattern is to be based on a
previously created garment piece. When this option is ticked and if there is no associated shape file open at
the time, the "Open Shape File" dialogue is opened from which a file can be chosen (See on page 458).

If a shape file is already open

because Stitch Designer has been
opened from an Original Pattern
Drafting or Standard Garment
Styling shape, or if a shape file has
been associated through Shapes
/Thumbnails, Shapes / Open
Shape File or Shapes / Integrate in Stitch Designer the individual pieces of that file will be displayed in the
box and the piece on which the stitch pattern is to be based can be selected. If a different file is needed the
'open file' button (see red circle) can be clicked and the thumbnails view of shape files will be displayed
from which one can be selected (See on page 458).
If "Retain existing size" or "Set size manually" were opted for, any information that may be present in the
"Set size from a pattern piece" box will be ignored.

After "OK" is clicked on the "New pattern

setup" and the following "Tensions"
dialogues (See page 55) DesignaKnit will
present a warning such as the one shown
on the right if the stitch pattern is too wide for the chosen knitting machine. This might happen if the new
pattern was based on a hand knitted garment piece, as the width limitation does not apply to hand knitting,
or if too large a number has accidentally been entered for the stitches. DesignaKnit presents the warning,
but accepts the stitch pattern onto the workspace, as this may be what is required.
The stitch pattern size can be adjusted afterwards in several ways:
○ Revisiting File / New Pattern Setup will have retained the options that were chosen and is easy to
amend.
○ Modify / Rescale can be used to amend the number of stitches and change or retain the aspect ratio
(See on page 164).
○ Stitch rows and columns can be added or removed using the "+" and "-" buttons on the Left Toolbar
(See on page 87).
Select palette for new stitch pattern - If known, a particular palette can be selected for the stitch pattern
at this time. This can be changed or amended once the stitch pattern is on the workspace. Selecting
"Current palette" keeps whatever palette was open. If Stitch Designer was started without any shapes and
no stitch pattern, the DesignaKnit default palette that is relevant to the selected method of knitting will be
opened.

Clicking "Default palette for knitting method" will add stitch symbols
that are appropriate to the chosen knitting method, while the yarn
colours are identical to the normal default palette. E.g., the palette for
a machine knitting method (top image on the left) will contain different
symbols than the one for the hand knitting method (bottom image).

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Palettes can be amended at any time and saved by Export palette (See page 247).
If a different palette is required this can be chosen from the existing ones by clicking the "From File" option
after which the open files button next to the "default_f.plt" file name (or whichever file name is shown for the
method used) needs to be clicked. A thumbnails view of palette files will be shown from which one can be
selected (See on page 247). This option is particularly useful if custom palettes have been created.

DesignaKnit initially offers palette files (*.plt) when this option is used,
but stitch pattern files (*.stp) can be displayed instead by clicking on
the top selection box in the "Open Palette Files" dialogue. This will
drop down and display the stitch patterns option. When a stitch
pattern is selected the associated Palette will be opened, not the
stitch pattern itself. This is a useful option when a particular palette
has been used with a particular stitch pattern and needs to be repeated. The other option would be to save
that palette separately as a palette file (See on page 246) which can be opened or imported at a later stage.

Ticking "Save as the default pattern template" will save all the options
that are chosen in this dialogue as the default stitch pattern file (See
on page 57). This will overwrite the DesignaKnit default. From then on,
whenever Stitch Designer is opened or a "New from Default" stitch pattern is started this will be the stitch
pattern and palette placed on the workspace. Care needs to be taken that all options are indeed as
required as this creates a different starting position for new stitch patterns.
Show Advanced - This option is used to specify a particular set of symbol definitions (See on page 243).
Unless changes have been made to the definitions these options can be left as they are. If changes have
been made (e.g., if certain symbols have been added to a palette, or descriptions of stitches or knitting
instructions changed) the symbol definitions for new stitch pattern can be selected as follows:
○ Current settings - the current settings, including any alterations that have been made to the stitch
symbol definitions at this time are used and will be saved with the stitch pattern when it is saved.
○ From stitch pattern file - If any of the symbol definitions have been changed in a palette of a previous
pattern they will have been saved with that pattern, and can be reloaded for the new stitch pattern.
When this option is ticked, the file button on the right will activate and clicking on it will open the stitch
pattern thumbnails dialogue from which the correct stitch pattern file can be chosen. If this option is
used it is very helpful to make notes in the stitch pattern file so that it can be identified more easily at
a later stage. Notes can be added through the Edit / Notes menu option, and these can later be
searched on (See on page 435).
○ From stitch symbols file - If a definitions file has been saved of a particular symbols set (See on
page 243) this can be loaded by clicking on the file button on the right (see blue circle in "New
Pattern setup" image above) that becomes available when the "From stitch symbols file" is selected.

"Show / Hide Advanced" will be toggled as the button is clicked.

Once all the options have been selected the "OK" button can be clicked which will present the Tensions
dialogue. For the purpose of describing the basic work flow, the knitting method has been left unchanged
(Silver Reed SK840, Fair Isle, stocking stitch), the pattern size has been set to 30 stitches by 30 rows, the
current (default) palette has been used and no advanced options were used.

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The dialogue looks

different depending
on whether a shape
file was open or not
and this can easily
be identified by the
title of the window.
When it just reads
"Tensions" no
shape file was
open, when it reads
"Tensions + Notes
for a file name" one
was.
In the first case the
Stitch Designer
default tension is
used, in the second
case DesignaKnit
will show the
tensions that are
stored in the shape
file. Changing the
tensions in this
dialogue will change
them for that stitch pattern and will not affect the shape file itself, unless the shape file is saved by using the
Shapes / Save Shape (As) menu option! Tensions may be taken from the default stitch pattern, the shape
file, another shape file or set manually.
If a shape file was open, the complete Tensions dialogue is shown and allows the user to enter notes
specific to the shape file. This is always a good idea as these notes can be used to search for a particular
file, as well as describe why a certain tension was chosen (See on page 420).
Determining the correct tensions is not always easy as the design depends on the tension and vice versa. It
is good practice to knit a tension swatch (See on page 427) using the intended yarns, needle size and / or
machine settings to approximate the desired design of the stitch pattern. Once the stitch design is finalised
this process can be repeated in order to enter the correct tensions into DesignaKnit.

Working with the correct tensions is of paramount importance for the result to be as designed and
expected.

The tension that is set for a shape file is saved with it. When a shape file is opened in Stitch Designer and
its tension changed, saving it in the Stitch Designer section by using the Shapes / Save Shape (As) menu
option will apply the new tension to it. When the shape is subsequently opened in Original Pattern Drafting,
Standard Garment Styling or Interactive Knitting it will have these new tension values.
If the stitch pattern tension differs from the shape file tension, one can be set to match the other, or both
can be altered to create a new tension (See on page 180).
If the Stitch Designer tension is changed through Options / Tensions while there is a stitch pattern but no
associated shape file open, it will be shown for all subsequent stitch patterns that are opened. A stitch
pattern does not have a tension of its own. The tension that is actually used depends on the shape file that
it is used with.

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As a stitch pattern can be used with a variety of shape files, which can all be produced with
different yarns and needle settings, the shape tension should take precedence in most
cases.

The tension that is needed for a particular stitch pattern can be recorded in the notes of the shape file that it
is used for. This will facilitate the correct use of different tensions for the same stitch pattern.
The tension to be used could be decided by taking an educated guess. If a similar yarn has been used in
the past and this is known, these properties can be entered. Alternatively, most yarns have a tension guide
based on plain stocking stitch on a given needle size or machine setting, which can be a good place to
start. However, knitting a tension swatch is recommended. Once the pattern has been designed and a
tension swatch knitted, the correct values can be entered through Options / Tensions with the appropriate
shape file open.
The current tension is always shown in the title bar of DesignaKnit Stitch Designer in stitches by rows, e.g.,
(T:32 x 40).

New from Default

Rather than decide the options one by one, a stitch pattern can be started by using the File / New from
Default menu option or "Ctrl-D", which uses the preset options from default.stp. Starting a new stitch
pattern in this way bypasses the Tensions dialogue and opens the workspace with the options as defined in
the default stitch pattern. This file is initially provided by DesignaKnit.

"New from Default" can be the quickest way to clear the workspace and start again.

There can be a requirement for all new stitch patterns to start with certain settings that are different from the
DesignaKnit supplied defaults. This requires "default.stp" to be amended and can best be achieved as
follows:
○ Opening Stitch Designer, which will open the workspace with a new, blank, untitled stitch pattern,
based on the current default.stp. Making sure there is no shape file open by using Shapes / Close
Shape File if necessary, this file can be saved with a different name, so that it can be easily recog-
nised and returned to if this becomes necessary or desired (see Tip). As the newly saved file will now
be the current stitch pattern, the default will have to be opened again, either by closing and opening
DesignaKnit, or by using File / New from Default or "Ctrl-D".
○ The workspace and palette can now be amended. The stitch pattern size, method of knitting,
background colour and stitch can all be specified. All required colours and stitch symbols can be
placed on the palette. When the file is subsequently saved as "default.stp" in the Stitch patterns
folder it will have become the new default and will be opened as an 'Untitled' stitch pattern on using
File / New from Default or "Ctrl-D". If this option is taken, the stitch pattern could also be defined with
colours and / or stitch symbols, instead of being blank.
○ Alternatively, File / New Pattern Setup or "Ctrl-N" can be used. The "Save as the default pattern
template" option must be ticked after making sure that all the options (palette colours and stitch
symbols, background colour and stitch, knitting method, stitch pattern size) are correct. If abbre-
viations and / or instructions have been changed and need to be in the new default.stp, 'Current
settings' for the symbol definitions has to be ticked as well (in the "Show Advanced" section). After
clicking "OK" a tension dialogue will be presented and the desired tensions can be set. Thereafter,
when a stitch pattern is started by using "Ctrl-D" or the File / New from Default menu option, an
'Untitled' blank stitch pattern will be presented as defined here.

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Whenever a default stitch pattern is started, the abbreviations and descriptions for the stitch symbols will
be pulled from "MySymbols.csv". This information is used to generate Garment text & Stitch pattern text
(See page 380) printouts and Interactive Knitting instructions. If a different symbols file is present and
required it can be specified (See page 298).

If a Shape-only plain knitting garment piece is to be knitted on a Brother KH940 or KH950i knitting
machine by using a BrotherLink 1 cable link, a blank stitch pattern is needed. The initially supplied or
copied "default.stp" can be used for this purpose.

New from Current

When working with a stitch pattern File / New from Current or "Ctrl-R" will start a new blank stitch pattern
with the size, tension, palette and knitting method of the stitch pattern that was active, but only one pattern
repeat. The file name in the title bar changes to Untitled.stp and the file needs to be named when the
pattern is saved.
A similar result can be achieved for the current stitch pattern by using the Edit / Clear Yarn colours and Edit
/ Clear Stitch Symbols menu options. Using these options will leave the file name as it was and the number
of pattern repeats that was in the original stitch pattern will be unaltered.

"New from Current" can be the quickest way to clear the workspace, while leaving the palette,
background, method, tension and stitch pattern size intact and displaying one pattern repeat.

Open Stitch Pattern

Stitch patterns can be opened by starting Stitch Designer and clicking the 'File Open' button,
accessing the File / Thumbnails menu option or pressing "Ctrl-T". All these options will open the "Open
Stitch Pattern" dialogue from which stitch patterns, palettes and graphic files may be opened by selecting
their file types.
Opening Stitch Designer files in Thumbnails view offers the most comprehensive way of finding the desired
file, as this view contains thumbnail images as well as details of the stitch patterns, palette files or graphic
files. The files can be searched for, sorted and displayed, making it easy to select the required files. Stitch
patterns and palette files have different search and sort options (See on page 433) from Graphic files (See
on page 465). A saved stitch pattern opens with the palette that was active at the time of saving.
Alternatively, stitch patterns, palettes or graphic files may be opened by using the File / Open Stitch Pattern
menu option which will present a list of files. If the name of the file is known, this is a quick way of accessing
it (See on page 437).
Graphic files can be opened in order to convert them to a stitch pattern, greatly increasing the range of
possibilities of designing a stitch pattern (See on page 115).
If a garment file is open in Original Pattern Drafting and Stitch Designer is switched to, the stitch pattern
that is applied to the active piece will be opened automatically.

Design
Once the workspace is prepared the actual stitch pattern is designed using the many different tools that are
available in Stitch Designer, such as Drawing Tools (See page 92), and Control Tools (See page 75), as
well as any of the options that are described in Manipulating Stitch Patterns (See page 128). The stitch
pattern can be integrated with garment pieces from shape files (See on page 178) and once it is exactly as
desired, it can be knitted from printed instructions or from Interactive Knitting.

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Check

After or during designing the stitch pattern the "Check" button on the Top Toolbar (on the far right) or
selecting Check in the menu opens the dialogue shown, providing different options to check the current
stitch pattern for errors. The window displays status information at the top regarding the overall number of
colours, stitch symbols and stitch cables that are used in the pattern.

Any one of the buttons in the "Continuous checking" section may be ticked to switch on continuous
checking for that option. For example, if the "Row colours" option is ticked, error marks will appear in the
stitch pattern at all the places where they exceed the number that is set, making it easy to identify errors as
they are made, rather than checking afterwards. When Continuous checking is active, the button will
display as pressed in the Top Toolbar, as a reminder. Selecting "None" will switch off continuous checking,
greying out the "colours per row" and "stitches in float" boxes.
Row colours - When this option is ticked the maximum number of colours allowed in a row can be
specified in the box to its right, up to a maximum of 48. For Fair Isle this defaults to two, for the various
Jacquard methods it should be two up to six to match the method.After clicking "OK" the workspace is
returned to and all the rows that exceed the specified maximum will be marked by horizontal lines. The
check marks can be assigned a contrasting colour in the Colour Scheme (See page 21). The colours in the
affected rows can be corrected manually to adhere to the set maximum, or the set maximum can be
changed.
Floats - When this option is ticked the maximum number of stitches per 'float' to check for can be specified.
Floats apply to Fair Isle knitting, as the yarn that is not knitted is carried along the back of the fabric. There
are no floats in Jacquard knitting, because the yarns that appear in the pattern are knitted into the front of
the fabric, and those that do not appear are knitted into the back of the fabric, instead of being carried along
as they are in Fair Isle. Floats appear in the stitch pattern on the workspace for the first two horizontal and
all the vertical repeats if more than one repeat is shown. If a high number is entered in the "allow how many
stitches in a float" field this will revert to 250 or the width of the pattern repeat, whichever is lower.
Jacquard - Ticking this option will check Jacquard patterns for errors and mark them with vertical lines on
each pair of rows. If Jacquard errors are found the option to correct them will be offered. An example of an
error: if a stitch should be colour 3 on row number 1, and colour 2 should be on row number 2. As colour 2
must be knitted before colour 3, this presents a problem. Jacquard sequence errors only occur using
Jacquard separation methods that deal with rows in pairs. Sequence errors cannot occur if separation
method B is used with 2 colour Jacquard. This option is greyed out unless the currently open stitch pattern
has a Jacquard method.

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If Jacquard checking is not necessary, a

message to this effect will appear when
using the option. A couple of examples have
been shown on the right, where checking
was used for a Passap E6000 machine.
DesignaKnit uses some mechanisms in
order to minimize Jacquard errors:
l When a piece outline is dragged vertically over a Jacquard pattern in Stitch Designer, it moves 2
rows at a time in order to maintain correct row pairing.
l When a Jacquard stitch pattern is moved vertically over a garment piece in Original Pattern Drafting,
the stitch pattern moves 2 rows at a time.

The Check menu option may be used whether

the Yarn Numbers & Feeders (See page 148)
are displayed or not. DesignaKnit may offer to
change the sequence of the yarn numbers by
presenting the top message shown on the right
together with the option to click "Yes" or "No".
Whichever option is clicked, if there are errors in
the pattern, the bottom message is presented with information about the number of errors it has detected,
and the offer to correct them automatically.
If "Yes" is clicked to alter the sequence of Jacquard yarn numbers, the yarns will be rearranged to result in
the fewest errors. Jacquard errors will be corrected by exchanging or copying colours of adjacent rows,
keeping the pattern as near to the original as possible, after which the program returns to the workspace. If
"Check" is run again, no more errors will be found and "0 errors" will be displayed in the status bar.
If "No" is clicked to alter the sequence, the number of errors, if there are any, will be displayed in the second
message together with the option to correct them. Clicking "Yes" will correct and clicking "No" will leave
them in the pattern on the workspace, highlighting them with small vertical lines in the colour that is
specified in the Colour Scheme. Manual correction can then be performed on each error and as they are
corrected the error indicators will disappear if continuous checking is in use.

The number of Jacquard errors found will also be displayed in the status bar when the cursor is hovered
over the stitch pattern or the feeder columns if Yarn Numbers & Feeders are displayed.

In the image on the left, Jacquard errors were present and

marked by small vertical white lines when the Jacquard
Check was run. Running Check again and clicking on "Yes"
for automatic correction sorted the errors, as shown in the
second image where the error lines have disappeared. The
pink stitches that were in error have been replaced by
orange stitches.
If the pattern is geometric or symmetrical it can be better to
click "No" to make any necessary changes manually by using the Pencil tool. It is also possible that the
pattern is corrected by shuffling the pattern up or down by one row or by changing the sequence of colours.

Using continuous checking helps to ensure that the pattern stays consistent with the chosen
method of knitting by displaying errors immediately.

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Check once for colour changes etc - clicking this button, which is shown when the pattern has a
machine knitting method, will check the pattern for several possible errors, including Fair Isle errors,
Jacquard errors, difficult colour changes, empty colour feeders and the placement of smart Lace symbols.
When this button is clicked, checks are made and error messages are displayed as necessary.
Check the pattern for errors - clicking this button, which is shown for hand knitting patterns, will check
the pattern for errors such as wrongly placed 'Turn' Symbols, unpaired Smart Symbol 'Brackets' or missing
abbreviations or instructions. When this button is clicked, checks are made and error messages are
displayed as necessary.

If no errors were found when clicking the "Check once for colour changes etc." or
"Check the pattern for errors" button, the program will display the "No errors
found" message shown on the right. If one of the other options was clicked for
continuous checking, the workspace will be returned to without any further
messages and / or displaying "0 errors" in the status bar if no errors were found. The "Check" dialogue
stays open on the screen to allow continuous checking to be switched on or off.

If errors were found in hand knitting patterns, such as

exceeding the number of stitches allowed to 'float' or the
maximum numbers of colours in a row, they will be
shown on the pattern as horizontal lines in the colour
that is set in the Colour scheme settings.
Float errors are shown as in the first image on the left,
where the line spans the float between colours. Where
the maximum number of stitches in a float has been
exceeded, the entire row has a line through it, as shown
in the second image. The errors can be corrected by amending the stitch pattern, or accepted by amending
the options in the Check dialogue.
The option to "Check the pattern for errors" does not lead to markings in the pattern, but will give
meaningful messages if errors are encountered so it is easy to locate and fix them. Some error messages
that may occur have been displayed on the right.

○ If there are stitch symbols in the

pattern that have no abbreviations,
the top warning on the right will be
presented and an abbreviation and
instruction can be added by using the
Text Editor (See page 295).
○ As there can be only one Turn symbol
in a row, a message is given if more
are detected, together with the row
number on which this occurs (See
also Turns on page 265).
○ Similarly, if the knitting direction is
wrong an error message and location
will be given for the faulty symbol.
○ Brackets always need to be used in pairs and if they are not, the row number where a bracket is
missing, or superfluous, is given (See also Multi-stitch procedures on page 268).

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If errors were found in machine knitting patterns, they

will be indicated by lines in a contrasting colour
wherever they occur, as shown in the first image on the
left for Fair Isle and in the second image for Jacquard.
DesignaKnit offers to correct the errors where it can.
It is prudent to accept the changes that are suggested
as DesignaKnit will take many factors, such as the
chosen knitting machine, its setup, method of knitting,
number of colours, rows and stitches etc. into account.

The option to "Check once for colour changes etc" can be used to
check for difficult yarn changes or tuck symbols on adjacent
stitches, which could be problematic unless the pattern is for
double bed knitting at half pitch. DesignaKnit will present an inform-
ational message such as the one shown on the right if necessary.
The pattern can be adjusted manually by using the various design tools if required.
Different descriptive messages such as the following can appear, depending on the options chosen. These
messages may appear when the "Check once for colour changes etc" option is ticked, at print, download or
Interactive Knitting stage.

○ Jacquard patterns should not contain

Smart Symbols. If one or more are
present, the Check option may present
a warning such as the one shown on
the right.

○ If the method is 2 colour Jacquard with

separation method B, ticking the
continuous checking option may result
in the message shown on the right.

○ For patterns with Right / Wrong side

facing texture methods that contain
colours but no stitch symbols, a
message such as the one on the right
will appear. As long as Yarn symbols
have been assigned to all the colours
that are used in the pattern, colour information will print in the Pattern Text printout, but the warning
will keep appearing and Interactive Knitting will treat the pattern as plain knitting.

○ For patterns with Right / Wrong side

facing texture methods where a Colour
Changer is configured to 'on' and colour
changes take place on even numbered
rows, the message shown on the right
will appear, detailing the rows in which
there are changes. Only Opaque colours will prompt yarn changes. For Passap machines, this check
and subsequent error message will not happen for stitch patterns with an even number of rows as
well as a stitch technique with an even number of lock passes per row. For example, the check will
happen for technique 129 on a Passap E6000, which uses a single pass of the lock per row on the

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screen, but not for technique 130 which uses 2 passes for the same row. The yarn changes could still
be worked by hand on these rows, but are more awkward than using the Changer for this purpose.

○ For patterns with Right / Wrong side

facing texture methods that contain
more than one opaque colour in certain
rows, the message as shown on the
right may appear. Only the first opaque
colour that is encountered in a row will
be allowed for while any others are
ignored in Interactive Knitting.
When working with "Lace" stitch patterns, the "Check once for colour changes etc" option can be used to
check if all the appropriate symbols are in the correct places. If they are not, DesignaKnit will display error
messages (See page 331) and clicking on "OK" returns the program to the workspace where the errors
may be corrected. DesignaKnit does not mark the pattern for these errors. After correcting, "Check" can be
used again to ensure all errors have been eliminated.

Save
Stitch pattern files, palette files, symbols files and shape files are different objects which can be combined.
Palette and symbols files can be saved separately and applied to any stitch pattern file. Stitch pattern files
are applied to shape files.

It is important to keep in mind which type of file is being saved: A stitch pattern file (the
pattern itself), a palette file (colours, stitch symbols, or both), a text file (abbreviations and
knitting instructions for symbols) or a shape file (garment piece).

○ Stitch Pattern File (.stp, .dat) - The stitch pattern on the workspace can be saved from the main
Stitch Designer screen by using the File / Save menu option, or by clicking the "Save" button on the
Left Toolbar (See on page 437). This saves the stitch pattern with its method of knitting (including the
state of a Colour Changer if one is used), its Colour and Symbol palettes and all its other settings,
resulting in a .stp file. Stitch pattern files incorporate a palette with the colours and symbols as shown
on the workspace. If no action is taken to save the palette separately, its settings are saved with the
stitch pattern file whenever this is saved and on opening the stitch pattern will be presented as it was
at the time of saving. If a stitch pattern is to be used with the Silver Reed PC10, it needs to be saved
in the .dat format, which is available from the "Save as type" drop down box in the "Save Stitch
Pattern File" dialogue (See page 438).
○ Palette File (.plt) - The palette file can be saved from the Yarn Colour Setup screen by using the
"Save As" button. Or it can be saved from the Symbols Organizer main screen by clicking the "Save"
button on its main toolbar (See on page 245). All colours and symbols that are on the palette at the
time will be saved using either of these options and from then on this palette file is a separate object,
a .plt file, which can be combined with this or any other stitch pattern. It can be opened, which places
a minimal stitch pattern on the workspace, or it can be imported into a new or existing stitch pattern,
in which case options are given to decide which colours and symbols to apply (See on page 249). A
palette file can also be exported from any stitch pattern that is open on the workspace (See on
page 247).
○ Text File (.csv) - Custom abbreviations and knitting instructions can be saved separately in the
Symbols Organizer Text Editor (See page 295). Whenever changes are made in the Text Editor and
"Close", "Default", "Revert", or the "Close" button in the top right hand window is clicked, DesignaKnit

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offers a dialogue with several options (See page 299). The saved Symbols file can be linked with the
current stitch pattern by saving this while the symbols file is used. The saved Symbols file can also
be opened and applied to different stitch patterns (See page 298). DesignaKnit applies a default
symbols file, unless a separate file is created and saved with the stitch pattern.
○ Shape file (.shp) - A shape (garment) file that was created in Original Pattern Drafting or Standard
Garment Styling can be opened in Stitch Designer to be integrated with the current stitch pattern. It
will then need to be saved so that the stitch pattern information is included in it. Saving a shape file
from Stitch Designer is done through the Shapes / Save Shape (As) menu option (See on page 462).
Original Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment Styling garment files that are opened in Stitch Designer can
be saved in the Shapes / Save Shape menu option whenever needed, which will overwrite the original files.
If this is not intended, the Shapes / Save Shape As option should be used instead in order to give the file a
different name.

When a shape file is integrated with the stitch pattern it needs to be saved by using the Shapes / Save
Shape (As) menu option. This is different to and separate from saving the stitch pattern itself as it saves
the garment piece with the stitch pattern integrated in the correct position.

When a stitch pattern is saved by clicking on the button in the Left Toolbar or using the File / Save
(As) menu option it includes its Palette. Palettes can also be saved as separate files (See on page 246).

Delete
The menu option File / Delete opens the thumbnails view of the stitch patterns folder from where files can
be selected for deletion. The types of file that can be displayed are stitch patterns (*.stp, *.pat, *.dat),
palette files (*.plt) and graphic files (any image files) where all the options of sorting and searching through
the files to be deleted are described (See on page 439).
The Shapes / Delete menu option presents a thumbnails view of shape files that can be deleted and navig-
ates to the shapes, rather than the stitch patterns folder. Files can be ticked and deleted from the main
window, or sorted (See on page 435) and searched (See on page 435) before selecting them for deletion.

Deleting files from within DesignaKnit cannot be undone, as they do not end up in the
Windows recycle location.

Print Stitch Patterns

Stitch pat picture 66
Stitch pat symbols 66
Stitch pat template 67
Colour changes 68
Pattern text 69
Key to symbols 70

In addition to printing directly from DesignaKnit, all the various formats can be copied to the clipboard and
then pasted as pictures or text into other applications. This offers the freedom of editing text, resizing
images and creating page layouts so that patterns can be published as desired in paper or electronic
formats (See on page 371).

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Clicking the Print button, using the File / Print menu option or "Ctrl-P" in the Stitch Designer section of
DesignaKnit presents a dialogue which is different from taking the same actions in Original Pattern Drafting
or Standard Garment Styling. The print options that are accessed in these sections are described in
Printing Shapes (See page 365) and can be accessed in Stitch Designer through the Shapes / Print
Shapes menu option if a shape file is integrated with the stitch pattern. Those options will not be described
separately in this section unless they are very specific to stitch patterns. Instead, page references are
provided where necessary.
On entering the "Print" section the program will ask whether to save changes if any were made and not yet
saved.

If the Method of Knitting is not appropriate for the actual

stitch pattern, DesignaKnit will display an error message
such as the one shown on the right and preview of any of
the "Available formats" that are described below is not
presented when clicked on.
The program returns to the "Page Setup" dialogue instead when "OK" is clicked.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor

may be hovered over the image. Where the cursor
changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a quick way of
getting to the relevant section.

Using the File / Print menu option in Stitch Designer results in

the selection window shown on the left.

Using any of the "Available formats" of "Print Stitch Patterns" always results in one repeat
of the stitch pattern that is open on the workspace.

After one of the "Available formats" has been chosen

the "Page Setup" screen is presented from which
various options can be set. The lower portion of the
screen is shown on the left and the various buttons
can be clicked to access Setup, Save and Copy.
Detailed information about all Printing options can be
found in Printing Shapes (See page 365).

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The and buttons that appear underneath this toolbar can be used to
preview and print the results of any of the "Available formats". In the examples below "Preview" has been
used to demonstrate the different outcomes of each option.

After clicking on any of the "Print Stitch Patterns" options, the spanner symbol that is shown on the
left can be clicked to change its printing options. Results of all print formats are shown below in order to
show what to expect from each.

Stitch pat picture

The image on the left is the result of using the "Stitch pat picture"
option. In the setup section, the stitch representation was chosen to
be plain, and the stitch colour as colour.
This option is useful to obtain an image of the single stitch pattern
repeat that is used, without giving many details.
To see the stitches clearly a Grid thickness of "1" was chosen, but the
pattern can be displayed without a grid by choosing a thickness of "0".
Various other options, such as print size, stitch aspect or different
ways of numbering the rows can be selected.
The setup options of "Stitch pat picture" and "Garment picture" (which
can be accessed from the Shapes / Print Shapes menu) are identical
and described in Garment picture & Stitch pat picture (See page 387).

Stitch pat symbols

The images on the left are the result of the

"Stitch pat symbols" option, with the 'main grid
thickness' of the setup window set to "1" in
order to see the different stitch symbols more
clearly in their grid cells.
To achieve the first image, the 'Stitch symbols'
box (Stitch representation) was ticked in the
setup window of this print format and the
symbols shown are any that are different from
the 'expected' stitch, which is the Knit stitch in
this case. Purl, tuck, double increase and
weave symbols are all displayed.
The second image depicts the symbols that are assigned to the Yarn colours, because the 'Yarn colour
Symbols' box (Stitch representation) was ticked in the setup window. Yarn symbols can be assigned in the
Palettes / Yarn Symbols menu option (See on page 242). For both images 'Stitch Colour' was chosen as
colour rather than white or grey.

Stitch Symbols and Yarn Symbols cannot be displayed at the same time.

The setup options of "Stitch pat symbols" and "Garment symbols" (which can be accessed from the
Shapes / Print Shapes menu) are identical and described in Garment symbols & Stitch pat symbols (See
page 389).

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Stitch pat template

The "Stitch pat Template" option is greyed out unless a knitting machine with punch card capabilities is
chosen. Such machines can be recognised by the addition of stitches and rows after the number of
needles (See page 347).

There are many options for setting up a template print (See page 392) for producing punch cards or reader
sheets and there are certain rules (See page 391) that apply. A stitch pattern can be printed on its own
(unintegrated) or as part of a garment piece (integrated). Templates for unintegrated stitch patterns are
described in this chapter and templates for integrated stitch patterns are described in Integrated template
(See page 390). Printing a template for an unintegrated stitch pattern is accessed through the File / Print /
Stitch pat template menu option.
The Brother standard punch card knitting machine was used in the examples below, which caters for a
punch card of 24 stitches by 60 rows.

An example of an unintegrated Fair Isle

stitch pattern is shown on the left. The first
image is of the stitch pattern as it is being
designed on the workspace. The second
and third (template) images show that the
stitch pattern is flipped, as necessary for the
punch card. The Template options (See
page 392) were set to Stitch marking 1,
Black, Grid thickness of 1 and Row
numbering switched on in the second
image. The third image has been added to
show the effect of using the "Invert needle
selection for Fair Isle sections" option, which switches all selecting needles to deselecting and vice versa.
The needle selection can also be swapped in the pattern by using "Ctrl-E".

The black or coloured grid cells represent selecting needles and these blocks will need to be punched
out or shaded on the punch card or reader sheet.

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An example of an
unintegrated 2 colour
Jacquard stitch
pattern is shown on
the near left as it
appears on the Stitch
Designer workspace.
For easy comparison
the Fair Isle stitch
pattern that was used above was changed
to Jacquard. The stitch pattern is flipped
automatically, as required for punch cards
of all methods of knitting except the Right
Side facing texture method, and each row
of finished fabric is separated into two
template grid rows according to colour
separation method B (See on page 352)
which is used here.
Images A and B are parts of the template
that show one vertical pattern repeat. The
Template options were set to Stitch
marking 1, Grid thickness of 1 and Row
numbering switched on for both. The template option for image A was selected as 'Black' and image B
shows that selecting the 'Colour' option can make it easier to recognise the overall picture of the pattern
(See also Setup Stitch pattern template on page 392).
If a Colour Changer is configured to 'on', the template will show the Yarn Numbers & Feeders as Colour
Changer positions, preceded by "CC", as is the case in image A, otherwise the Jacquard yarn colour
sequence will be shown with a preceding "J", as shown in image B.
Each pair of grid rows in the template is one grid row in the stitch pattern on the workspace as it requires
two passes of the carriage to complete one row of finished fabric. Each pair of template rows should be
viewed together to 'see' one pattern row. The '1, 2' pair on template rows 5 and 6 combine into row 3 in the
stitch pattern, as can be seen when comparing the red rectangles in images A, B and the stitch pattern at
the start of this section.

Colour changes

As this option is only used with machine knitting, the

error message shown on the right will be displayed
when an attempt is made to access it when the
method of knitting is hand knitting.
When "OK" is clicked DesignaKnit will return to the "Page Setup" dialogue.
This option is much like the Integrated changes (See page 403) option that is accessed in the File / Print
section of Original Pattern Drafting or from Shapes / Print Shapes in Stitch Designer when a shape file has
been integrated with the stitch pattern on the workspace. The only difference is that the setup option to
view the full length of the pattern piece is not available, because there is only one stitch pattern repeat to
report on.

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The Colour Changes printout shows when

new colours enter the stitch pattern, when
yarn may need to be rethreaded. The row
number at which a new colour is introduced
is given together with the colours that are
current on that row, and the Yarn feeder
numbers they are to be threaded on if this is
applicable.
In this example, a 3 colour Jacquard pattern
was used. Had it been a 5 colour pattern, five columns of colours would have been shown, while a Fair Isle
pattern would have shown only two columns.
Colours can be named in the Palettes / Colour Names menu option (See page 228). Colours that are
present in the stitch pattern, but that have not been given a name, will show up as "???" in this print.

Pattern text
This option is very similar to the Garment text & Stitch pattern text (See page 380) print option that can be
accessed from Original Pattern Drafting, Standard Garment Styling and the Shapes / Print Shapes menu
option in Stitch Designer. The difference is that "Pattern text" only covers the instructions for one pattern
repeat of the stitch pattern that is open on the workspace.

If knitting instructions for a garment piece or pieces are required then Shapes / Print Shapes should be
used instead after selecting a shape file to integrate with the stitch pattern.

"Pattern text" will print the knitting instructions that are

used by Interactive Knitting. If notes were added to the
stitch pattern in the Edit / Notes menu option, these will
also print, as shown in the top example on the left.
For patterns where the colours have been assigned Yarn
symbols (See page 242) and Colour names (See page
228), each row will include this information, as shown in
the lower image on the left, where each yarn has been
assigned a letter. If applicable, this information is
displayed above the knitting instructions as a key, so that
Yarn B might represent purple and Yarn C yellow (See
page 381).
The options to include "Symbols to Abbreviations key"
and "Abbreviations to Instructions key" can be ticked in
which case the information that is shown in the Key to
Symbols section would be included in this print (See on
the next page).

If a stitch pattern is complex, involving a lot of colour or stitch symbol changes per row, it
can take some time to generate the print Preview, during which a 'wait' cursor will be
displayed.

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Key to symbols

It can be useful to print a key to the symbols

used in a stitch pattern separately instead of
as part of the "Pattern text" print. Whether to
print both "Symbols to Abbreviations key" and
"Abbreviations to Instructions key" can be
selected in the setup of this print format.
The Symbols, Abbreviations and Instructions
used can be unique to the current stitch
pattern, as they can be changed to require-
ments in the Text Editor (See page 295) of the
Symbols Organizer.
More information can be found in Key to
symbols (See page 384).

Download
Stitch patterns can be downloaded to a knitting machine by using the Transfer / Download to Knitting
Machine (See on page 450) or Transfer / Integrated download (See on page 455) menu options which will
download either the pattern repeat or, if it is integrated with a garment piece, the piece with shaping and
stitch pattern information.

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Design Tools
Selection box 71
Control Tools 75
Drawing Tools 92

DesignaKnit offers a wide variety of design tools to help create any desired stitch pattern. Additional ways
in which stitch patterns can be manipulated have been described in Manipulating Stitch Patterns (See page
128).
The Design Tools have been divided into sections for clarity. Selection boxes can be considered a Design
Tool as they are used to limit operations to part of the stitch pattern and can also be used to move, cut,
copy, paste and zoom in to part of the stitch pattern. Control Tools refer more to operations in which the
stitch pattern or parts of it are manipulated, whereas Drawing Tools are used to directly draw the stitch
pattern.

Selection box
General properties 72
Drag and Drop 74

The selection box buttons are found in the Top Toolbar. Selection boxes are used when the
intention is to only affect a certain area of the stitch pattern, whether with drawing, manipulating, zooming
in, moving, cutting, copying or pasting. In order from left to right, the buttons are used to draw a selection
box, show or hide an untagged or tagged selection box and show information about its exact position in
stitches and rows as well as centimetres or inches (depending on the Units of Measurement that are set).

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant section.

A selection box can be hidden by clicking on the button that represents it, or by right clicking on the
workspace and selecting the option to "Hide the Selection box".
A selection box may used for a variety of reasons:
○ It can be used to limit the area to which changes are applied. This is useful when certain drawing
tools are applied, such as Pencil (See page 94), Flood Fill (See page 102), Brush (See page 95) or
Curve (See page 96) or when functions like Import Single Motif (See page 138), Import Border (See
page 140) or Import Tile (See page 142) are used. When Flood Fill is used, the area inside or outside
the selection box can be clicked, which results in the selection box being either filled or excluded
from the fill.
○ It can be used to crop a stitch pattern to a certain size. After drawing the selection box to the required
size, Redefine (See page 84) can be used to cut away everything outside the selection box.
○ A tagged or untagged selection box can be used to quickly flip its contents by clicking and holding the
cursor anywhere within the box but away from the middle handle of a tagged box, then pressing the
"Ctrl" (horizontal) or "Tab" (vertical) keys. Using "ctRL" flips Right / Left, "Tab" flips Top And Bottom.
○ The contents of a tagged selection box can be rescaled by holding the "Ctrl" key while clicking,
holding and dragging one of the corner or edge handles (See page 73).

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○ It may be used to quickly delete all its contents by clicking the 'Del' key, bearing in mind that all
contents will be replaced by the RMB colour and the main background stitch.
○ A selection box can be zoomed into by using the "Zoom into the selection box" button on the Top
Toolbar (See page 25) to make working at stitch level easier and clearer. The corresponding button
(See page 25) can be clicked to zoom out again.
○ If the exact size of an area of the stitch pattern needs to be known, a selection box can be drawn,
after which the "View selection box position and dimensions" can be clicked (See page 72).
○ A selection box can be used to export its contents as a Motif to be imported into different stitch
patterns (See on page 137).
○ The contents of a selection box can be moved to a different location by dragging the box, bearing in
mind that different settings affect what is moved and left behind (See on page 74).
○ The selection box can be used to cut, copy and paste its contents. Cut and Copy are used to place
the contents in the Clipboard from where they can be pasted to the same or a different stitch pattern.
A number of considerations have to be kept in mind when using these options (See on page 76).

General properties

While a selection box is being drawn, by using the first

button shown here, information regarding its position and size is
displayed in the status bar. The selection box can be hidden or
displayed, using the second button shown.
In this image the box stretches from the third stitch up to and
including stitch 13 and so consists of 11 stitches and 4 rows,
which in the current tension settings translates to roughly 3.5 by 0.8 centimetres (see blue arrows). If
Options / Units of Measurement was set to inches, these would be displayed instead of centimetres.

After the box is drawn this information disappears from the status bar, but can
easily be retrieved by clicking on the selection box, holding and moving it, or by
clicking the "View selection box position and dimensions" button shown here, or
by using the menu option View / Selection box Position. Using the first option will
display all of the information as above in the status bar. Using either of the other
two options displays positioning information in a separate window as shown on
the left.
The "cm" (or if the Units of Measurement were inches, "ins") box can be ticked to display or unticked to hide
this information.

If the entire stitch pattern can be dragged, which can happen if the stitch pattern
is zoomed in such that scroll bars are visible at the bottom or right hand side of
the workspace, the cursor changes to a hand with a little cross, as shown on the
far left. The cross enables precise positioning of the cursor at a stitch and row
number, which is shown in the mouse pointer position box (See on page 18). If it
is just the selection box that will be moved, the cursor changes to include a little white square (as shown in
the nearest left picture), which can be clicked, held and dragged.
When a selection box is dragged to a different location, some or all of its contents are moved depending on
certain conditions, while the area that is left behind is filled in a specific way (See on page 74).

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Clicking the "Show the Tagged Selection box" button shown here
places handles in the centre and around the box, allowing it to be
resized easily without affecting its contents.
When the cursor is hovered over the edges or corners (see red circle) it
will change to a double sided arrow. The arrow can be clicked, held and dragged to resize the selection
box, in accordance with the chosen method (See page 73). If the edges of the selection box are not visible
due to zooming in, a new box can be drawn to enclose the area to be worked on. Alternatively, a box can be
drawn and positioned prior to zooming in.

If the "Ctrl" key is held while resizing

the selection box by dragging one of
its corner or side handles, the
contents will be rescaled. This can
be seen in the examples on the left
where a tagged selection box has
been drawn around the heart below
the bow. The "Ctrl" key was held
after which the top handle (see red
circle) was clicked, held and dragged
upwards to enlarge the heart. This has overwritten part of the bow. For the rightmost image the "Ctrl" key
was held while the bottom middle handle (see blue circle) was clicked, held and dragged. This has filled the
empty area with the RMB colour.

Changing the size or position of a tagged selection box registers as a change in the stitch pattern and
DesignaKnit will prompt to save it. Next time the stitch pattern is opened, clicking on the tagged or
untagged selection box button will display it in the last saved position.

When the cursor is hovered over the centre tag it will change to a four
arrow handle, allowing the box to be moved. Clicking and holding the
centre handle temporarily hides all tags while leaving the four sided arrow
in view. The selection box can now be moved and the edge handles will
reappear once the cursor is released.
To move its contents, a tagged selection box can be made to behave like
an untagged one by clicking and holding inside it, away from the handles, then dragging it to its new
location.
A tagged selection box is automatically placed on the workspace when the Lettering (See page 108) or
Curve (See page 96) are clicked. If only one pattern repeat is visible, the box is set to its size and
positioned over the centre. If multiple repeats are visible, the tagged selection box will be placed in the
centre of the visible area. If the view is currently zoomed in, the tagged selection box is set to the currently
visible area of the pattern.

When a tagged selection box is visible on the workspace, an additional menu appears below
the Left Toolbar in which the method to resize can be selected. Selecting freehand allows
total freedom of resizing, while clicking one of the other options will apply constraints, so that
the box can only be resized in both directions simultaneously. The "Stits = rows" option
ensures there is an equal amount of stitches and rows, while the "Xins = Yins" option takes
the tension into account, making sure that the area within the selection box will be square in
actual knitted size. If the units of measurements have been set to centimetres, this last option will read
"Xcm = Ycm"

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The two daisy buttons shown here are displayed below the Left Toolbar when a selection box is
visible. Clicking the (first) daisy without background ("Make the motif background transparent") will ensure
that, on moving or pasting the selection box, only opaque colours and stitch symbols are placed in the new
location. Clicking the (second) daisy with the coloured background ("Use all colours or stitch symbols from
the motif") will place all the colours and stitch symbols, regardless of transparency.
The daisy buttons can be used to move only part of the stitch pattern, based on transparency and opacity of
colours and stitch symbols (See page 227). Whichever of the daisy buttons is selected will be remembered
until it is changed.
Using transparency and opacity can be a clever way in which to omit certain colours from a design,
although the same can be achieved by using the Lasso (See page 88) tool.

The active daisy may be swapped at any time that these buttons are visible, which is when a selection
box is visible or when a Paste action is initiated. Any change will have an immediate effect on what is to
be moved or pasted.

Drag and Drop

What happens when a selection box is moved (dragged and dropped) depends on a variety of conditions
and combinations of settings, as outlined here. An example has been worked out below.
○ Tagged / Untagged - A tagged selection box can be resized in different ways by dragging the tags
(See page 73). If a tagged selection box is moved by using the handle in the centre its contents are
unaffected and only the box is moved. If it is moved by clicking in the box, away from the centre
handle, it behaves like an untagged selection box. If an untagged selection box is moved its contents
and the area left behind are affected according to different settings in this list.
○ State of Daisy button - If the "Make the motif background transparent" option is ticked only the
opaque items in the selection box are moved. If the "Use all colours or stitch symbols from the motif"
option is ticked all items in the selection box are moved (See page 74).
○ Colour or Symbol mode - Whether the palette is in either of these modes does not affect moving a
selection box, unlike pasting contents after cutting or copying a selection box (See page 79).
○ View of the workspace - Moving the selection box affects only what is visible on the workspace.
Limiting the view to either colours or stitch symbols, by using the View / Yarn Colours and View /
Stitch Symbols menu options or (un)ticking the relevant buttons on the Top Toolbar, ensures that
only those elements are moved.
○ Mouse - If the mouse is used to move the selection box, the 'empty' space that is left behind is filled
with the main background stitch which will be either Knit or Purl and will show no symbol and either
the nearest transparent colour in the affected row(s) or the RMB colour if there is no transparent one
available.
○ Holding "Ctrl" key - If the "Ctrl" key is held while moving the (tagged or untagged) box with the
mouse, the space left behind is not affected and a copy of the opaque and / or transparent contents
of the box is moved on dragging, based on which daisy button is selected.
○ Keyboard arrows - If a selection box (tagged or untagged) is moved by using the keyboard arrows,
its contents are not affected. If the "Shift" key is held while the arrow keys are used, the box will move
in increments of 5 stitches or rows. If the "Ctrl" key is held, it will move in increments of 20 stitches or
rows. This can be an easy way to reposition a box precisely.
Drag and Drop moves the entire contents of the selection box, whether colours, stitch symbols or both and
as such it is often more straightforward than using Cut, Copy and Paste, which involve the Windows
Clipboard (See page 76).

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On clicking and holding the selection box, it will immediately reflect some of the properties that will be
applied after moving. As soon as the cursor is released, the destination box will be filled according to the
settings (See on the previous page). Edit / Undo, clicking the Undo button on the Left Toolbar or "Ctrl-Z" will
revert the selection box to before clicking.

The process is demonstrated in the

images on the left. Blue and red are
transparent, while all the other
colours and the stitch symbol are
opaque. Whether the palette is in
Colour or Symbol view is irrelevant
as both colours and stitch symbols
are affected by drag and drop.
A selection box is drawn to define
the area to be dragged, as shown in
image (1). When the cursor is
hovered over the box, it changes to
include a little white square,
showing that it can be clicked, held
and dragged to a different position.
With the transparent background daisy selected, simply dragging the box will pick up only the opaque
colours and stitch symbols and move them to the new location, as shown in image (2). The space that is left
behind is filled by the transparent red and blue, according to which transparent colour is more dominant in
the selection or closest to the centre of each affected row.
If the "Ctrl" key is held before the selection box is clicked and dragged, the area that is left behind is
unaffected, as can be seen in image (3). In image (4), the coloured background daisy button was selected
and the selection box dragged to the right. The area that is left behind is filled in the same way as in image
(2), but both opaque and transparent colours and stitch symbols are dragged to the new location,
completely overwriting the destination area.
Using different combinations of transparent and opaque colours and stitch symbols, as well as selecting
one or other of the daisy buttons allows for a lot of possibilities in dragging and dropping the contents of a
selection box.

Control Tools
Cut, Copy & Paste 76
Shuffle Pattern 83
Redefine 84
Pattern Repeats 86
Insert Rows and Stitches 87
Lasso 88

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Control tools are used to manipulate all or part of the stitch pattern without being concerned
with each individual stitch. They can be found in the Left Toolbar and are shown on the left.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be hovered over the image.
Where the cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a quick way of getting to the
relevant section.

The Setup buttons for the different palettes, as well as the tools that relate more to drawing
have been obscured in this image in order to clearly show which the Control Tools are.

Cut, Copy & Paste

Cut and Copy can be used to put contents in the Clipboard. Paste (See page 79) can subsequently be used
to place the contents of the Clipboard into the same or a different (new or existing) stitch pattern, into Desig-
naKnit Graphics Studio or into an external program such as Word, Paint etc.

If both stitch symbols and colours need to be pasted into the current stitch pattern, it can be
easier to use the Drag and Drop (See page 74) or Lasso (See page 88) techniques.

A complete pattern or the contents of a selection box can be cut by using the button on the Left
Toolbar, Edit / Cut on the menu, "Ctrl-X" or by clicking the "Cut" option that appears after right clicking on
the workspace. "Cut" places a copy of the selection on the Clipboard, and the area left behind will be filled
with the main Knit or Purl background stitch (if in Symbol mode) or a transparent colour in the same row or,
in the absence of this, the colour associated with the RMB (if in Colour mode).

The "Copy" action that is accessed from the Left Toolbar, "Ctrl-C", using the Edit / Copy menu option
or selecting "Copy" from the right click menu is very similar to the "Cut" command, except that the original
selection or pattern is unaffected and stays on the workspace.
For the Copy and Paste contents of a stitch pattern containing a custom cable to work, the custom cable
has to be imported first (See page 322).

DesignaKnit Cut and Copy actions involve the Windows clipboard. It is important to realise that, while
DesignaKnit grid cells can contain a yarn colour (bitmap) and a stitch symbol (bitmap or text) at the
same time, the Windows Clipboard can only contain one or the other, not both.

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DesignaKnit stitch symbols

can be interpreted as text or
bitmap, whereas colours are
always bitmap.
If an area to be cut or copied
contains both colour and
stitch symbols, the dialogue
shown on the left appears to
help decide how the stitch
symbols are to be treated.
The chosen option will be
remembered until it is
changed.
"Cancel" can be clicked to
return to the workspace
without making any
changes.
Bitmap - If "OK" is clicked while the first option is selected, stitch symbols and colours are combined. This
means that stitches that contain both colour and a symbol can end up as either black, white or their original
colour because the centre pixel, which is often located in the symbol, is used to decide the colour of the
pasted stitch cell. It is even possible to end up with a different derived colour, based on the zoom level of
the stitch pattern. If new colours have been generated they will appear in the palette. If the cut or copied
selection is pasted back into DesignaKnit, it will include any newly generated colours.

Colours can only be pasted back into DesignaKnit as they are if there are no visible stitch symbols in the
selection during "Cut" and "Copy".

Text - If the second option is

selected, the dialogue changes to
display the information as shown on
the left.
This will result in the symbols being
placed in the clipboard as text while
any colours that may be present in
the selection are ignored.

Stitch symbols can only be pasted back into DesignaKnit if they are copied as text during "Cut" and
"Copy".

The images on the left show results of pasting

the contents of the clipboard into an external
program when the symbols have been treated
as text (first two images) and bitmap (third
image).
Clicking the "Extract the stitch symbols and copy
them to the Clipboard as text" option and pasting the result into a word processor will display something
similar to the first image. The stitch symbols are translated into text characters in the font of the receiving
document. If the font were to be changed to KnitWrite© (See page 251), the characters would be shown as

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the actual symbols used in Stitch Designer as shown in the middle image. The symbols are separated by
tabs and editable as any normal text. This facility might be used if a stitch pattern is designed in text (See
on page 291) but requires some skill. Selecting the "Copy the selected pattern area as a bitmap" results in
a graphic, as illustrated in the third image, exactly as it was on the screen in Stitch Designer, including both
colours and stitch symbols.
The table below shows how Cut, Copy and Paste actions behave when both yarn colours and stitch
symbols are visible in a selection box.

Action Symbols Colour mode Symbol mode

Colours are cut Colours are left in place

Bitmap & Symbols are left in place Symbols are cut
Cut
Text Space left behind is filled by RMB Space left behind is filled by main
colour stitch (no visible symbol)
Bitmap &
Copy Original stitch pattern area is unaffected
Text
Text on
Paste Only symbols will be pasted
Cut / Copy

○ If the daisy with transparent background is selected, only

opaque colours will be pasted

Bitmap on ○ If the daisy with coloured background is selected, all colours

Paste
Cut / Copy will be pasted
In either case, the stitches that originally contained symbols will be filled
with white, black, a derived or their original colour depending on the centre
pixel of the stitch cell and zoom level of the stitch pattern

If the area in the selection contains both colours and stitch symbols, one or other can be made
invisible by clicking the appropriate button in the Top Toolbar or by using the View / Stitch symbols or View /
Yarn colours menu options. For all intents and purposes the selection box then contains unambiguous data
which the Clipboard sees as either bitmap (yarn colours) or text (stitch symbols). Yarn colours and stitch
symbols that were hidden will be unaffected.
○ If only yarn colours are displayed in the selection, they will be cut or copied as a bitmap (image),
without further prompting. An example (See page 81) has been worked out below.
○ If only stitch symbols are displayed in the selection, they will be cut or copied as text, without further
prompting. An example (See page 81) has been worked out below.
○ Where yarn colour and stitch symbol are both displayed in the selection, the dialogue (See page 77)
will appear in which a choice has to be made for the symbols to be cut or copied as text or bitmap. An
example (See page 82) has been worked out below.

It is recommended to Cut or Copy either colours or stitch symbols, so that the contents of the
Clipboard will be unambiguously bitmap or text and DesignaKnit will not need to present a
user choice.

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The informational message shown on

the right appears if Cut or Copy are used
while Fabric Texture (See page 27) is
shown and there are only colours in the
selection. The stitches show an overlay
of the fabric texture and will copy to the
clipboard as bitmap. Pasting results in
showing the Fabric Texture. This can be
very useful if the contents of the
clipboard are to be copied as a graphic
to DesignaKnit Graphics Studio or an
external program such as Word or Paint
because it represents the fabric texture as closely as it can. However, if the contents are pasted back into
Stitch Designer, the colour of each pasted stitch is based on an average of the original stitch colour and the
fabric texture overlay. There will be a black or grey shading on top of colour stitches, resulting in new and
unpredictable colours that will be added to the palette.
The contents of the selection box will be cut, whether clicking the "OK" button or the "X" in the top right
hand corner. If this action is unwanted, it needs to be undone after returning to the workspace by using the
Undo button on the Left Toolbar, or "Ctrl-Z".

It is highly recommended to turn off the Fabric Texture view when using Cut and Copy as it can lead to
unexpected new colours in the palette on pasting.

"Paste" is only available after Cut or Copy has been used. It can be accessed from the Left Toolbar,
by using "Ctrl-V", the Edit / Paste menu option or selecting "Paste" from the right click menu and will place
the contents of the clipboard in the top left hand corner of the visible workspace or selection box. The
pasted content is surrounded by a dotted line to indicate that it can be moved or otherwise manipulated.
The contents of the clipboard can be pasted into Stitch Designer, DesignaKnit Graphics Studio or into an
external program such as a word processor or graphic image files program.
If pasted into a stitch pattern, the following needs to be taken into account:

Size

If (an area of) a stitch pattern has been copied to

the Clipboard in Stitch Designer, the number of
stitches and rows of the pasted result will be identical
to the original copy because this information is
known to DesignaKnit.
This means that if a copied area consists of 20
stitches and 30 rows, it will still have that size when it
is pasted, regardless of the zoom level of the recip-
ient stitch pattern. This can be seen in the images on
the left, where the same stitch pattern was copied
and pasted into two existing stitch patterns of a different size. The pasted result easily fits into the first, but
is too large to fit completely into the second stitch pattern. As much or as little of the result will be pasted
into the destination workspace or selection box as will fit.

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If a screen bitmap or graphic image has been copied to

the Clipboard, such as when copying an image from Word,
Paint or another outside source, the pasted result will
occupy the same screen size in the Stitch Designer
workspace as in the original location.

The zoom level of the recipient stitch pattern affects

how many stitches and rows are used to make up the
pasted image.

As illustrated in the images on the left, different zoom levels of the Stitch Designer workspace lead to a
different number of stitches and rows of the pasted result, because the same screen area will contain less
stitches and rows when zoomed in and more when zoomed out. The more the recipient stitch pattern is
zoomed out, the more stitches and rows will be covered by the same screen area and the closer the image
will resemble the original. If the image in the Clipboard is larger than the area it is pasted to in Stitch
Designer, it will be cut off at the edges, as shown in the rightmost image.
The white colour that surrounds the heart of the original image is excluded from pasting by clicking its trans-
parency button in the palette prior to accepting the shape onto the workspace. Similarly, both red and pink
in the rose image of the stitch pattern above were made opaque in order to paste.

Colours
When copying and pasting a stitch pattern or part thereof, its colours are copied and, if pasted into a
different stitch pattern, added to the palette.
When copying and pasting an image from an outside source with many colours, such as a photograph,
similar colours are combined, equivalent to a setting of 5% in the Scaled Paste option (See page 133). All
colours that have been detected are added to the palette, provided there are empty slots. If the palette is
full, no more colours will be added and the image will be pasted by using equivalent existing colours. It is
therefore important to clear the palette of all unused colours prior to pasting, unless this is an intended
effect.

If the Yarn Colour palette is full, the pasted image will be made up of those existing colours

Transparency

When a "Paste" action is initiated, two daisy buttons (See page 74) become available below the
Left Toolbar. Selecting the first daisy (without background) will paste only the opaque colours and stitch
symbols, while the second option (daisy with coloured background) pastes transparent as well as opaque
colours and stitch symbols.
If (part of) a stitch pattern is pasted, whether into the same or a different stitch pattern, the transparency
state of colours and stitch symbols in the palette will remain as it was. For images that are copied from an
outside source by using screen print or a different program such as Paint or Word, DesignaKnit will have no
information regarding transparency settings and all colours will be set as opaque in the palette.
Individual colours and stitch symbols can be selected from the palette to be opaque and pasted when the
daisy without background is chosen, or the daisy with coloured background can be selected to paste all
colours and stitch symbols, regardless of their transparency state.

Settings can be changed until the selection to be pasted is accepted on the workspace by pressing the
"Enter" key or clicking in the stitch pattern outside of the selection box.

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Text
Text that is copied and pasted from other sources (Word, Excel) will be converted to the KnitWrite© font.
Any resulting symbols will be placed in the palette as soon as they are pasted onto the workspace. This
may be useful if a complex sequence of stitch symbols needs to be created. The sequence can be thought
out and typed in a word processor, then copied and pasted straight into Stitch Designer at the correct
location (See on page 291).

Scaled Paste (See page 129) may be used instead of a normal Paste to influence the size of the pasted
image as well as its colours in a more controlled way.

Copy (or Cut) and Paste can be used to create new compos-
itions and motifs by flipping and turning the selection as it is
stamped into place.
After pasting one instance of the contents of the clipboard
and as long as the dotted outline is still visible, the "Shift" key
can be used to stamp copies, the "Tab" key to flip vertically
and the "Ctrl" key to flip horizontally.

The flipping actions can be remembered as follows: "ctRL" flips Right / Left, "Tab" flips Top And Bottom.

A few examples have been worked out below.

Example with colours only

The selection box contains only colours, both the "View stitch symbols in the pattern" and "View yarn
colours in the pattern" buttons are clicked, although there are no symbols to display. The contents of the
selection box are Cut and Pasted to illustrate what happens in different circumstances.

Image (1) is the starting

position, with part of the pattern
in a selection box. Red and
pink are transparent, light blue
is opaque and the RMB colour
is turquoise.
In Colour mode the contents of the selection box are cut and then pasted, as shown in image (2) and (3).
The area left behind is filled with the RMB colour and the image that is pasted contains only the opaque
colours, because the transparent background daisy was clicked. In image (2), only light blue was opaque,
whereas in image (3) pink was also made opaque by clicking on its transparency indicator in the palette.
In Symbol mode only the (non-existing) symbols are cut, leaving the colours in place as shown in image
(4). Because the coloured background daisy was clicked, all the colours, regardless of their transparency,
were pasted.

Example with symbols only

The selection box contains stitch symbols and colours. Image (1) shows the starting point with both colours
and stitch symbols.

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A selection box was drawn after which the "View yarn colours in the pattern" button was clicked (or the
View / Yarn colours menu option unticked) to hide the colours and leave the symbols in view, as shown in
image (2), where the selection box is outlined in blue.
The selection box itself is visible, although faintly. The appearance of selection box lines can be changed
through the Options / Colour Scheme menu (See on page 21). When "Cut" is used with these settings,
DesignaKnit will cut the contents of the selection box without any further dialogue, as, for all intents and
purposes, only symbols are present. "Paste" will paste the symbols in the top left hand corner of the
workspace as can be seen in Image (3). When the "View yarn colours in the pattern" button is clicked the
colours will be redisplayed, unaffected, as shown in image (4).

If only stitch symbols are visible, only stitch symbols will be affected by Cut and Paste actions. By the
same token, if only colours are visible, only colours will be affected.

Example with colours and symbols

The selection box contains colours and symbols and the examples show how the pasted result is affected
in both Colour and Symbol mode. Red is transparent, light blue and pink are opaque and the RMB colour is
turquoise.

In Colour mode -
Image (1) is the starting
position, with part of the
pattern in a selection
box. The contents of
the selection box are
Cut and Pasted.
Image (2) shows what
happens when the "Extract the stitch symbols and copy them to the Clipboard as text" option was selected.
The colours in the selection box area have been replaced by the RMB colour. The stitch symbols in the
area that is left behind are unaffected by the "Cut" action. The destination area, which is surrounded by a
dotted line, contains the pasted stitch symbols only, while its original yarn colours have not been not
affected.
Image (3) shows the same Cut and Paste action, when the "Copy the selected pattern area as a bitmap"
option was selected, which combines colours and stitch symbols. The area left behind is filled by the RMB
colour, as before. What is pasted however, is different. All stitch symbols have been replaced by the main
Knit stitch (blank). Only the opaque blue and pink colours are pasted, while the transparent red is ignored.
In this example, only one new colour (white)has been generated to cover the area that was previously
occupied by the stitch symbols. Based on the zoom level, different and more colours might have been
generated. For clarity the pasted area was emphasized by a thick red border.

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In Symbol mode -
Image (1) is the starting
position, with part of the
pattern in a selection
box. The contents of
the selection box are
Cut and Pasted, filling
the area that is left
behind with the main background stitch. All mouse buttons (not just the LMB) are associated with symbols.
Image (2) shows what happens when stitch symbols are converted to text. The area that is left behind (as
outlined by the blue square) has no stitch symbols as they were replaced by the main Knit stitch (blank).
The colours in this area are unaffected. Only the stitch symbols are pasted (see dotted outline).
In image (3) stitch symbols are combined with the colours into a bitmap image. As in Colour mode, only the
opaque colours are transferred in the "Paste" action and the area that contained the symbols is now
covered by white stitches, but, as explained above, new and different colours might have been generated.

Unless there is a specific need for cutting and pasting both symbols and colours it is recommended to
copy either one or the other, and only in Grid view.

Shuffle Pattern

The Shuffle button is used to shuffle the pattern in any direction, one row or stitch at a time. The Up,
Down, Left and Right direction arrows on the button need to be clicked to determine the direction in which
the pattern moves.

Shuffling can also be achieved by accessing the

Modify / Shuffle menu option in which case the
dialogue shown on the left opens into which values
can be typed.
It is used to shuffle the pattern Up, Down, Left or
Right by however many stitches or rows are typed
into the entry fields. Up and Down are mutually
exclusive, and so are Left and Right, as the pattern
can only move in one of these directions.
The pattern moves in relation to the selection box or
the grid. If no selection box is visible the entire
pattern will shuffle in relation to the grid, and if a
selection box is visible, the pattern will shuffle within
the confines of the box, as explained below.

If the button on the Left Toolbar is used, the cursor,

which changes to a hand symbol and displays a hint (as
shown), needs to be positioned carefully over the exact
directional arrow that is required and clicked once for
every row or stitch column that the pattern or selection
has to be moved.

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If no selection box is present on the workspace,

everything on it (colours and stitch symbols) will
shuffle in the direction that is clicked on. The image
on the left shows colours and stitch symbols on an
otherwise blank stitch pattern.
The entire block was moved by clicking the right and
bottom directional arrows of the Shuffle button three
times. This can be much easier and quicker than
drawing and moving a selection box.

If a selection box is present the pattern within it will shuffle. If

it 'hits' one of the sides, the pattern part that would disappear
will appear on the other side, as shown in the example on the
left. The down arrow of the "Shuffle" button was clicked
repeatedly until the bottom of the pattern appears at the top
(see blue arrow).

The Shuffle tool can be very handy in combination with the Mirror tool (See on page 112) to get the initial
block in the correct position to be mirrored. Some experimenting with displaying, hiding and redrawing
selection boxes will be needed because the selection box, when hidden, does not move with the block.
Additionally, the middle of the button can be clicked to centre the contents of a selection box over the stitch
pattern. Using the middle button requires a selection box! If none is present DesignaKnit will pop up an
informational window to this effect. The pattern will be moved such that, as much as possible, the middle of
the selection box will be positioned over the middle of the stitch pattern. This is not always possible as it
depends on the shape (square or rectangular) and size of the selection box and whether the stitch pattern
consists of an even or uneven number of rows and stitch columns.
In the first two images in the example below, a selection box was drawn, measuring 5 stitches x 5 rows,
after which the middle of the Shuffle button was clicked. This positioned the middle of the selection box in
the centre of the stitch pattern, leaving equal amounts of stitches and rows on all sides (see red arrows).
The second set of images depicts a selection box of 1 stitch by 1 row. When the middle Shuffle button is
clicked, this particular stitch ends up in the middle of the pattern and all the other stitches are in the same
relative position to it. This can be a handy way to position a pattern very precisely.

Redefine

Either the Redefine button on the Left Toolbar or menu option Edit / Redefine can be used to
redefine an area of the stitch pattern or pattern repeats on the workspace as a single pattern repeat. This
allows endless possibilities in creating variations with existing patterns. This can be useful if the same
palette, colours or stitch symbols are used and if an area of the stitch pattern is required to be used as the
basis for a new pattern.

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The Redefine button is greyed out and not available unless a selection box is shown on the workspace or
the stitch pattern is displayed with at least one repeat.
The Redefine tool can be used in several ways:
○ If a stitch pattern of a specific size is required, a selection box of the required size can be drawn, after
which Redefine can be used to apply that size. This option can be particularly useful when designing
small motifs to be used in larger patterns.
○ A selection box can be drawn around the area on the workspace that needs to be the new single
pattern repeat. Clicking the Redefine button cuts away everything outside the selection box and fills
the workspace with the part of the pattern that was left by redefining. This option needs a selection
box to be drawn.
○ If more than one pattern repeat is on the workspace, the Redefine tool can be clicked to merge all of
the repeats that are present into one new stitch pattern.
○ If more than one pattern repeat is on the workspace and a selection box is drawn to straddle them,
the Redefine tool can be clicked, which cuts away everything outside of the selection box, as in the
first option, and one new pattern repeat is created.
○ If a shape file piece is positioned on the stitch pattern, clicking the Redefine button creates a new
stitch pattern repeat in the size of the piece, which will fit its exact width and length. All the pattern
repeats that fill the shape piece are merged into one stitch pattern. In order to use this option, a
shape file needs to be opened with the stitch pattern (See on page 179).
○ In the process of experimenting with stitch files it can be useful to have one large 'stitch pattern' in
which several elements can be worked on simultaneously until they are perfectly defined. Once an
element is finished to the desired standards, the stitch pattern could be saved under a different
name, the element in question can be surrounded by a selection box and the Redefine button clicked
to keep only this element.

It is prudent to save the stitch pattern under a different name when experimenting with the
Redefine option as, once saved, it will be difficult to return to its original state.

In this example the Rosebud.stp stitch pattern was used as a

basis for creating a new stitch pattern. Two pattern repeats were
placed on the workspace by clicking on the Repeats button (See
on the next page) on the Left Toolbar. A selection box was
placed straddling the two repeats. For clarity the tagged selec-
tion box was used, but this is not necessary.

Clicking the Redefine button (Crop or Expand the

pattern) or using the Edit / Redefine menu option
results in the contents of the selection box being
shown as one single pattern repeat on the workspace.
The result will expand to fill the workspace, so it is
easy to work on the pattern.

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Once an area has been redefined, all of the Design Tools

(See page 71) can be used to work on the resulting pattern
as normal. However, for the purposes of this demonstration,
only the Repeats were used to repeat the pattern three times
across and once down. At this point the stitch pattern
consists of six pattern repeats, as can be seen by the
boundary lines shown in the first image. When the Redefine
button is clicked again, all the repeats merge into one stitch
pattern which can then be saved separately.

The Shapes / Cut and Sew menu option (See on page 187) does something similar when it merges all the
pattern repeats on the workspace into one single pattern repeat that can be used to generate the correct
instructions for Interactive Knitting or for printing out. Whereas Redefine produces a single pattern repeat
fitted to the exact number of stitches and rows required, Cut and Sew follows the shape contours and will
produce an outline of the shape in whichever format is chosen.

Pattern Repeats

Clicking on the "+" or "-" in the Define the number of pattern repeats button will add to or reduce the
number of pattern repeats on the workspace by one in the direction of the symbol that is clicked on. This
can be used to view more or fewer pattern repeats in order to get either an overview of the finished fabric,
or a detailed view of one repeat. This setting is remembered for the next time only when the pattern is
saved.

Rather than clicking "+" or "-" of the Repeats button several times,
the View / Repeats menu option will present the dialogue shown
on the left, which can be used to specify the number of horizontal
and vertical repeats needed.
Any alterations that are made to any one of the repeats using the
design tools will be reflected immediately in all the other repeats.
This can be very useful as the effects of any changes are seen
instantly over a larger area.
Entering an impossibly high number in either or both of the boxes will produce the largest possible number
of repeats onto which garment pieces can be arranged, although it may be more practical to estimate the
number of repeats required for positioning the garment pieces. Where the repeats displayed are larger
than the workspace, scroll bars will appear at the bottom and right. When garment pieces are introduced to
the stitch pattern (See on page 178) they are positioned at the bottom left of the pattern repeats and it may
be necessary to scroll to the area where they are visible.

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Viewing more repeats on the workspace makes it

easier to imagine the pattern over a larger area.
If, in addition, the View / Grid and View / Boundary
menu options are unticked and 'Fabric Texture' view
clicked, a very good idea of the finished stitch pattern
can be achieved, which can be seen in the images on
the left.
The leftmost top image shows one pattern repeat with
grid and boundary (yellow line around the pattern)
while both have been removed for the lower leftmost
image. The pattern is then shown with 2 repeats across
and down in Fabric Texture view.
When repeats are shown on the workspace it is
possible to combine them into one repeat by using the
Redefine (See page 84) option.

Insert Rows and Stitches

The size of the stitch pattern can be changed using the "Insert" and "Delete" buttons on the Left
Toolbar.

Using the RMB affects stitches (columns) while using the LMB affects rows.

The Insert and Delete buttons on the Left

Toolbar are used to add or delete rows and stitches
(columns) from the stitch pattern.
After clicking either of the buttons the cursor can be moved
to the stitch pattern, where its appearance changes. The
point of the arrow is the active part at which insertions or
deletions start. After clicking on the stitch pattern it can be
held and dragged to mark the number of rows or stitches
that need to be added or deleted. Either button stays active
until it is clicked again or "Esc" has been pressed.
It is important to click somewhere in the row or column
where rows or stitches need to be added or deleted to stipu-
late the horizontal or vertical place from where entire rows
or columns are added or deleted.

If rows need to be added the LMB needs to be

clicked in the pattern. The cursor is clicked, held, dragged and after releasing it rows have been added in
the colour that is associated with the RMB. If stitches (columns) need to be added the same process is
followed, but the RMB is used instead of the LMB.
Rows or stitches are added in the colour that is associated with the RMB (Right Mouse Button). In the
images above the RMB colours are different (see Pointer position window) in the top and bottom to demon-
strate that DesignaKnit applies the colour associated with the RMB to the added area of the stitch pattern. It
is recommended to make sure that the desired colour is associated with the RMB before adding rows or
stitch columns.

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Clicking, holding and moving the cursor upwards adds rows below while clicking, holding and moving the
cursor downwards adds them above the current row. Clicking, holding and moving the cursor to the right
adds columns to the left while clicking, holding and moving the cursor to the left adds columns to the right of
the current column.

If, instead of adding 'blank' areas, existing rows or stitch columns of

the pattern need to be added and repeated, this can be done by
holding the "Shift" key while performing any of the actions above. The
result can be seen on the left where the leaf rows of the pattern were
selected while holding down the "Shift" key. After releasing the
mouse this part of the pattern is added underneath the existing rows.

The "Shift" key has to be held down until the cursor is released
otherwise the normal addition of rows or stitches using the RMB
colour will take place.

These actions are performed across the entire stitch pattern and
cannot be limited to a selection box. It is not possible to add rows or stitches to part of a pattern as this
would compromise the rectangular stitches by rows shape and definition of a stitch pattern file.
Any of these actions can be undone (up to 20 levels) by clicking on the Undo button on the Left Toolbar,
using Edit / Undo or pressing "Ctrl-Z" on the keyboard.

If rows need to be deleted this is done by using the LMB when clicking in the pattern, then holding
and dragging to mark the area to be deleted. If stitches (columns) need to be deleted this is done by using
the RMB.

The Insert and Delete buttons stay active until they are clicked again to deactivate them, a
different Left Toolbar buttons is chosen or the "Esc" key is pressed.

Lasso

The Lasso can be used pick up a defined area of colours or stitch symbols of the stitch pattern to be
moved or copied to a different location, based on opacity. As the contents of the Lasso tool are moved, the
status bar will be updated with its position, similar to resizing a selection box or dragging its contents (See
page 72). This can be used to create repetitions of motifs in a quick and easy way, or to move cables (See
page 91). The button needs to be clicked to activate and deactivate it.
If a selection box is visible on the workspace, clicking Lasso will hide it as this option disregards selection
boxes and works on whatever is visible on the workspace, whether that is one repeat or more. If more than
one repeat is shown, objects that straddle them can be picked up by the lasso as one object, rather than
just a bit of one repeat, and moved. This may happen in different circumstances:
○ Colours or stitch symbols may be contiguous, overlapping repeats
○ A single motif could be imported (See on page 138) and straddled across repeats of the stitch pattern
Depending on which selection the lasso is set to (See on page 90) a single colour or stitch symbol, or an
opaque one surrounded by transparent ones is picked up and moved. The closest surrounding colour is
used to fill the vacated space.

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Error messages such as the ones shown on the

right may appear if an 'illegal' part of the stitch
pattern is clicked for selection. This can be the
case if a transparent background colour is
clicked on or if the opaque colours or stitch
symbols that are clicked on are not surrounded
by transparent ones. The latter can happen if
the second options of either colour or symbol
Lasso have been selected (See on the next page). These messages may also appear if the focus is on
stitch symbols instead of colours and a colour is clicked on. Different circumstances can lead to these or
similar messages.

It is always prudent to check the transparency setting of colours or stitch symbols. They can be set and
unset for the purpose of using the Lasso tool, after which they can be returned to their desired state.

When the motif that is picked up by the Lasso is simply dragged, the area left behind is filled with a trans-
parent colour from the same row or the RMB colour if there is no transparent one to select. When using the
Lasso tool to move a stitch symbol object, the space left behind is always filed by the background stitch
symbol that is defined by the knitting method. If the "Ctrl" key is held before picking up a motif, DesignaKnit
will leave the original one in place and drag a copy. As soon as dragging starts the "Ctrl" key can be
released. Before releasing the mouse button, the motif can be flipped vertically or horizontally by using the
"Tab" (vertically, flip top and bottom) and "Ctrl" (horizontally, flip right and left) keys. Pressing the "Shift" key
will 'stamp' the motif in its new location. As long as the mouse button is held, the motif can be dragged to
different places and these actions can be repeated until it is in all the desired locations. Releasing the
mouse button completes the actions. Pressing "Esc" cancels the action and pressing "Enter" finishes the
Lasso action, stamping the final motif.

Combinations of
pressing "Shift",
"Ctrl" and "Tab"
can be used to
build a symmet-
rical pattern.
The images on
the left demon-
strate how this
process may be
used. The pink colour was made transparent, so that only purple would be picked up by the Lasso when
clicking in the top left hand corner of the pattern. The Lasso button was clicked and the first option of
"Lasso a single colour motif" (See page 90) was selected.
The actions to achieve the third image in the row above were as follows:
1. Hold "Ctrl", Click and hold on the purple, let go of "Ctrl" (this leaves the original Motif in place)
2. Drag the motif to the right hand top corner
3. Press "Ctrl" (to flip horizontally), "Shift" (to stamp)
4. Drag the motif to the bottom right hand corner
5. Press "Tab" (to flip vertically), "Shift" (to stamp)
6. Drag the motif to the bottom left hand corner

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7. Press "Ctrl" (to flip horizontally), "Shift" (to stamp)

8. Release the mouse

The Lasso tool picks up colours OR stitch symbols, depending on whether DesignaKnit is in Colour or
Symbol mode (See page 224). Should a combination be required this has to be done in stages. Altern-
atively, a "Selection" box can be used to drag and drop (part of) a motif to a different area of the
workspace (See on page 74).

Selections

After clicking the Lasso button in the Left Toolbar more options become avail-
able depending on whether the pattern contains colours only or different stitch
symbols as well. The two stitch symbol buttons on the bottom (3) and (4) will be
greyed out and unavailable unless more than one stitch symbol is present in the
pattern.

The options are:

1. Lasso a single colour motif
2. Lasso a motif of opaque colours (surrounded by transparent colours)
3. Lasso a motif of all the same stitch symbols
4. Lasso a motif of opaque stitch symbols (surrounded by transparent stitch symbols)
In the example below a stitch pattern was created, measuring 20 stitches by 30 rows. The background
colour is light blue and transparent, the mauve and pink colours as well as the purl stitch are opaque to start
with, as can be seen in the palette. How to set colours and stitch symbols as opaque or transparent is
described in the Palettes chapter (See page 227). Various Lasso actions are described below.

As there are colours as well as stitches all four Lasso

buttons will be available after clicking on the main Lasso
(Drag a Motif) button.

Clicking on the first

button (single colour
motif), then clicking on
a colour in the pattern
will pick up one single
colour area, regardless
of whether the colour is transparent or opaque or
contains stitch symbols. A single colour is picked up in
each case.

Clicking the second

button (opaque colours
surrounded by trans-
parent colours), then
clicking on a colour in
the pattern results in
the Lasso surrounding an area of contiguous (touching) opaque colours, which in this case is either both
pink and mauve colours (as they are touching each other), or the single area of mauve. Both are
surrounded by the transparent light blue.

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Changing the pink colour to transparent, then

clicking on it using the second Lasso button
(opaque colours) results in the error message
shown on the left, as the lasso will not pick up the
transparent colour. Should this be the desired action anyway, either the pink can be made opaque again, or
the first Lasso option (Lasso a single colour motif) can be used. Alternatively, the area to be copied can be
marked by a selection box and the copy and paste buttons on the Left Toolbar can be used (See on
page 76). The same message appears when trying to click on a transparent stitch symbol area.

In this example a few (opaque) 'tuck' stitches have been added

to the pattern and the Knit stitch has been made transparent.

Transparency (See page 227) can be switched on and off

as needed in order to manipulate the lasso selection.

Clicking on the third

Lasso option (Lasso a
motif of all the same
stitch symbols), then on
an area with a stitch
symbol results in one
stitch symbol being
picked up, regardless of whether that symbol is transparent or
opaque. Even though it appears that a couple of 'tuck' stitches
are included in the first image, they are in fact not and any
actions taken will only include the Purl stitches that are in the
lasso area as it was a Purl stitch that was clicked on.
Clicking on the fourth Lasso option (Lasso a motif of opaque stitch symbols surrounded by transparent
stitch symbols) will have the same result as above in this case because the areas of stitch symbols are not
touching. Had the two areas been contiguous (touching each other) all the symbols would have been
included in the Lasso selection, as long as both stitch symbols were marked opaque in the palette (as in
this example).
Even though two colours of the palette have the focus, DesignaKnit is in Symbol mode because the LMB is
focussed on one of the symbols.

The symbol lasso options are very

useful if stitch cables need to be moved
to a different location. After clicking on
either of the symbol options, an entire
stitch cable will be selected when
clicking on any part of it, because it is
recognised as a motif of stitches.
If the mouse button is held down, the cable can be dragged to a different position in the stitch pattern. This
function can also be used as a quick way to delete a cable from the stitch pattern, by dragging it off the
stitch pattern or for flipping the cable by pressing the "Ctrl" key while it is surrounded by the Lasso.

Actions
After selecting an area with the Lasso tool, various actions can be performed.

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The motif can be moved by clicking the Lasso, clicking on the area to be
captured, then simply holding the mouse button pressed down, dragging
to a different area and letting go. Either colours or stitches will be moved
in this way.
In the case of colours being moved, the colour left behind in the 'empty
space' is another transparent colour from the same row or the colour that
is associated with the RMB, regardless of whether that colour is actually used in the pattern. As the option
to move opaque colours surrounded by transparent ones is ticked, and the opaque mauve and pink are a
contiguous area surrounded by the transparent light blue, both colours are moved and light blue is filled
into the space left behind by moving.

The effects of the

various actions has
been shown in the
image on the left, using
colours only. From the
"Start" position Lasso
was made active for
the opaque colours on the stitch pattern (clicking Lasso, and the second option of the buttons that appear).
The area of the motif is outlined in blue in the first image and can be seen as faintly dotted outlined boxes in
the other three. Pressing the "Tab" key flips the motif vertically, pressing the "Ctrl" key flips it horizontally.
Pressing the "Shift" key 'stamps' the motif in place exactly where it is. Combinations of these actions can be
used to build a symmetrical pattern.

The flipping actions can be remembered as follows: "ctRL" flips Right / Left, "Tab" flips Top And Bottom.

Drawing Tools
Pencil 94
Brush 95
Eraser 95
Line 96
Curve 96
Flood Fill 102
Rectangle 103
Ellipse 104
Dropper 105
Trace 105
Lettering 108
Lace 110
Bird's-eye 110
Fill Pattern 111
Mirrors 112

There are several ways in which to ensure that the results from using drawing tools will fit onto a garment
piece in the envisaged way.

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○ The easiest way is to use the File / New Pattern Setup menu option and select the "Set size from a
pattern piece" option (See page 54). Using the drawing tools will then be confined (or expanded) to
the chosen size for the chosen garment piece. The design will not be repeated unnecessarily or be
too small for the intended size.
○ Alternatively, a stitch pattern can be created with the desired size in stitches and rows if this is
known. The resulting stitch pattern can be saved in order to be imported as a single motif (See on
page 138) into an existing stitch pattern. It is important to ensure that the parts of the pattern that are
to be imported are opaque yarns while the background is made up of transparent yarn(s) so that the
import does not overwrite unwanted areas.

○ If a drawing tool is to be used over a

number of stitch pattern repeats,
rather than appear in each and every
repeat, as many stitch pattern repeats
as necessary can be redefined into
one pattern (See on page 84). Using
different drawing tools subsequently
will apply them to the redefined
pattern. This has been shown on the
right, where a single pattern repeat is
shown, followed by two examples of showing 3 repeats across and down on the workspace. The
Brush tool was used to draw on the repeats before (middle) and after (rightmost) redefining the 9
repeats into one.

The drawing tools that are used to draw directly onto the workspace are grouped together in
the lower portion of the Left Toolbar and have been shown on the left. Each one can be
clicked to activate and remains active until it is clicked again or "Esc" is pressed on the
keyboard. Each button, except the Dropper tool opens different options below this group,
one of which needs to be selected.

The additional drawing tools that are shown on the left are located a bit higher up in the Left
Toolbar. These tools can affect either the whole stitch pattern or can be activated to affect
the drawing tools described below.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant section.

Before clicking on a drawing tool, a colour or stitch symbol can be selected from the current palette to 'load'
it, be it Pencil, Brush, Ellipse, Dropper or one of the others with the correct 'paint'. The choice is immedi-
ately reflected in the mouse pointer position window (See on page 18).
Drawing tool actions will be applied to the stitch pattern wherever the mouse buttons are clicked, unless
there is an active selection box, in which case the drawing tools can only be used inside it. The selection
box can be hidden, made visible and resized at any time (See on page 71).

If, while using drawing tools, colours or stitch symbols need to be changed frequently, the
cursor can be hovered over a stitch that contains the desired colour or symbol that already
exists in the pattern. Holding down the "Ctrl" key and clicking on it with the LMB or RMB
mouse button will 'load' that mouse button with the property. If the palette is in Colour mode,
colours will be picked up and if it is in Symbol mode, symbols will be picked up. "Ctrl-Shift"
may be pressed if necessary to shift the focus (See page 224) to Colour or Symbol.

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Pencil

The Pencil button is a free hand drawing tool with a width of one stitch. Single stitches can be filled in
on the workspace by clicking the appropriate mouse button once, or this tool may be used to draw free
hand lines by clicking, holding and dragging. Drawing with the Pencil using the LMB, MMB or RMB will
apply whatever colour or stitch symbol is associated with the left, middle or right mouse button respectively.
A continuous line made with the Pencil can be undone in one action by using the Undo Left Toolbar button,
"Ctrl-Z" or the Edit / Undo menu option.
The keyboard can also be used to add colours and stitch symbols to the stitch pattern. While each stitch
that is filled by clicking a mouse button is perceived as one action, when the same takes place using the
keyboard it is perceived by DesignaKnit as two actions and needs two "Undo" actions to return to a
previous state.

If DesignaKnit is in Colour mode, clicking the Pencil tool,

then positioning the cursor over where the colour first
needs to appear and typing "1" will add the first colour that
is shown on the palette to that stitch on the workspace.
Typing 2, 3, 4 etc. will add the corresponding palette
colours.
The image on the left shows a colour palette with ten
different colours of which the tenth colour has the RMB
focus and is the background colour of the workspace. The
initial direction of the cursor is the same as the movement
of the mouse before fixing a property on a stitch. If the mouse was swept from left to right, as was the case
in this example, the keystrokes will move to the right. Subsequent placement of colours using the keyboard
will continue in that direction until a boundary, such as the edge of the selection box or the edge of the stitch
pattern is reached. The direction will then turn upwards or downwards based on how the mouse was
moved prior to typing. Alternatively one of the arrow keys can be pressed to dictate the direction before
starting. As soon as a number is typed, it acquires the LMB focus and the Pencil cursor is moved to the next
position.
Typing an initial number and using the arrow keys in any direction will keep adding the same colour stitch
by stitch, until another number is typed, which will add the colour associated with it. Numbers 1 through to 9
can be used and the space bar represents the background colour. In this way the pattern can be filled with
colour using the keyboard.
If DesignaKnit is in Symbol mode, typing a number or letter will add the appropriate symbol to the stitch
pattern (See on page 291) and this symbol is automatically added to the palette if it does not yet exist on it!

"Ctrl-Shift" can be used to swap the focus of the palette from colours to stitch symbols. In
some Windows configurations this will also swap the keyboard language layout if more
than one is used. Correct by using the "Ctrl-Shift" key combination again.

Although it may take a little time to learn the keystrokes, it can, once mastered, make creating patterns
easier.

When this button is clicked two more options appear below the drawing tools that relate to the
Pencil. Clicking the first button can leave gaps in the line if the cursor is moved over the
workspace fast. This can produce random effects which may be exactly what is wanted.

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Selecting the second option produces a continuous line, irrespective of the speed with which the cursor is
moved.

Brush

The Brush is a free hand drawing tool much like the Pencil. It picks up colours and stitch symbols in
much the same way, but is not limited to the width of one stitch. A continuous shape made with the Brush
can be undone in one action by using the Undo button on the Left Toolbar, "Ctrl-Z" or the Edit / Undo menu
option.

The size, and to some extent the shape and angle of the Brush can be selected from the
selection box that opens underneath the Drawing Tools as soon as it is clicked. The actual
width of the Brush when drawing is affected by the number of stitches and rows that it
touches as well as the zoom level.
If the stitch pattern is zoomed out the widest Brush will cover much more than if it is zoomed
in because the Brush width remains the same while the pattern gets smaller.
The top left hand black square signifies that the brush is 'normal' and will follow the mouse cursor in the
same way as the Pencil tool. The | and _ shapes make the brush shape more vertical and horizontal
respectively, while the \ and / symbols angle the Brush.

The angle of the brush is only effectively visible when the stitch pattern is sufficiently
zoomed out, as demonstrated in the image on the left. In both cases the largest brush
size was selected. In the first brush stroke the \ angled property was selected while in
the second brush stroke the / property. In both cases the cursor was moved from left
to right.

Eraser

The Eraser tool can be used to replace colours or symbols in the stitch pattern very selectively. The
Eraser tool is a free hand drawing tool and when it is clicked the same options as for the Brush appear
below the drawing tools on the Left Toolbar to be able to define its size and shape. After selecting the
required brushing options, the cursor can be clicked, held and swept over the stitch pattern. Depending on
whether the palette is in Colour or Symbol mode (See page 224) either colours or stitch symbols will be
affected.

The images on the left show a small stitch pattern

containing colours as well as stitch symbols. The
accompanying palette is shown to the right of the
pattern in Colour (1) and Symbol (2) mode.
Using the LMB to erase: After selecting the Eraser
tool, the cursor can be clicked, held and swept over
the stitch pattern. If the palette is in Colour mode, Light
blue (RMB) will be applied to all Pink (LMB) stitches in
the stitch pattern shown here. If the cursor were to be
clicked and held with the RMB, sweeping will result in
applying Pink (LMB) to all Light blue (RMB) stitches. Only the stitches that contain LMB and RMB contents
are affected, all other stitches stay as they were.
The same action while the palette is in Symbol mode will result in Knit (LMB) stitches being replaced by
looped stitches (RMB) if the LMB is used for erasing. If the RMB is used, looped stitches will be replaced by
Knit stitches.

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If the LMB is held down while 'Erasing' the LMB contents will be replaced. If RMB is held down while
'Erasing' the RMB contents will be replaced.

If the palette is in Colour mode, only colours will be affected and likewise, if the palette is in Symbol mode,
only symbols will be affected.
The advantage of using the Eraser tool is that it only affects the colours (or stitch symbols) that are associ-
ated with the LMB and RMB, so that once the elements to be swapped have been decided and captured
under mouse buttons, Eraser can be swept wholesale over the pattern without affecting anything else.

In this example a stitch pattern was created using mauve, pink and
green. These colours are associated with the LMB, MMB and RMB
respectively, as can be seen in the mouse position pointer.
The Eraser tool can be used to swap the mauve and green without
affecting the rest of the pattern as these are the colours that are
associated with the left and right mouse buttons. If mauve and pink
needed to be swapped then pink, instead of green, should be associated with a left or right mouse button.

In the first image on the left the Eraser tool was

selected and is in the process of sweeping over the
entire pattern while holding the LMB, which replaces
the LMB colour. Pink is unaffected. In the second
image the process was repeated and completed
with the RMB held down, replacing all the green with
mauve.
The third image illustrates that the action can be limited further by using a selection box. If a selection box is
present, the Eraser will only work within it.

Line

The Line tool is used to draw a straight line at a 45° angle on the pattern. Drawing with the LMB, RMB
or MMB will apply colours or stitch symbols associated with those buttons.

When the tool is clicked the "Tool constraints" dialogue appears below the drawing tools. A
"Freehand" line can be drawn in any direction and will be adjusted to the proportions of the
stitches and rows in the pattern. The "Stits = rows" option will produce an equal amount of
stitches and rows, resulting in what appears to be a line at a 45° angle. This is not neces-
sarily the case for the knitted garment as it depends on the tensions used. The "Xcm = Ycm"
(or "Xin = Yin" if inches is the unit of measurement) produces a 45° line in the actual knitted
garment and will adjust the stitches and rows of the line for the pattern accordingly.

Curve

Simple Curves 98
Simple Shapes 99
Complex Shapes 100

With the Curve tool DesignaKnit adds a whole host of pre-designed possibilities to start off a design,
after which it can be completely customised.

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When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be

hovered over the image. Where the cursor changes to a hand it
can be clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant
section.

As soon as the Curve button is clicked the "Select curve type"

dialogue, as shown on the left appears on the desktop, presenting
a variety of shapes ranging from simple curves and shapes to
delicate designs. Any of the predefined shapes can be chosen
and manipulated until the desired shape has been achieved.
If the "Esc" key is pressed or the Curve button is clicked again at any time while manipulating the shape,
the shape will be cleared from the workspace. All manipulation of a predefined shape until it is accepted
onto the workspace by clicking outside of it, is regarded as one action in DesignaKnit and can be undone
by one click on the Undo button, "Ctrl-Z" or Edit / Undo.

When starting to draw with the Curves tool, a tagged selection box
appears (as shown on the left). This allows resizing and repositioning
of the area in which the curve is drawn, by clicking, holding and
dragging the centre handle, which will display a four arrows symbol
when the mouse is hovered over it, or changing the aspect ratio by
clicking, holding and dragging any of the edge handles.
The Curve handles themselves are green and blue, round and
square. As they behave differently for each predefined shape, they
have been described in each of these sections.
If the tagged selection box button is clicked in the Top Toolbar during
this process, the selection box will disappear and the shape will
immediately grow to fill the available workspace. If this is not wanted, the tagged selection box button
needs to be clicked again to recover size and position of the curve shape. Once the mouse is clicked
outside of the handles or outside of the selection box, the shape is dropped on the workspace and can,
from then on, only be edited by the other design tools.
As a curve, line, rectangle or oval is drawn it is not part of the stitch pattern until it no longer displays manip-
ulation handles. If handles are still visible, the shape is not yet part of the stitch pattern and clicking "Undo"
will undo the last recorded action, not just lose the curve with handles.
If repeats of a stitch pattern are shown on the workspace prior to activating the Curve tool the shape may
be dragged to straddle or span them, which can lead to stunning, unpredictable and complex patterns.

If, due to zooming in, the tagged selection box appears to be gone, a new one can be drawn to work
with. Alternatively, the "Zoom in to the selection box" button on the Top Toolbar (shown on the left) may be
clicked which brings the selection box into view.
When the required zoom view has been reached the 'Show the Untagged Selection box' button may be
clicked to provide an uncluttered view to start working with the curve itself by manipulating its green and
blue handles. If the curve needs to be moved at any time, the 'Tagged Selection box' can be reactivated by
clicking on its button on the Top Toolbar (See on page 71).
The shape chosen with the Curve tool will be drawn in whatever colour is associated with the LMB. The
desired palette can be imported or adjusted to reflect the preferred colours associated with the correct
mouse buttons.

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The selected Curve shape will be placed on the workspace at which point the Brush options are shown
below the drawing tools. When starting to experiment with this feature it is recommended to use the fine
brush. If a wide brush was the last type used, the design will appear in wide brush lines, which will not work
so well with delicate shapes. This can be rectified easily by clicking the narrowest brush button as soon as
the shape is on the workspace.
Predefined shapes can be manipulated as long as their handles are visible. Once a shape is accepted onto
the workspace by clicking outside of its handles it will behave in the same way as any other stitch pattern. It
can be altered by using any of the available drawing tools and it can be copied, pasted and imported into
other stitch patterns. The handles that were used to manipulate it to the exact desired design can no longer
be activated and clicking the Curve tool again will add another predefined shape to the workspace.
Simple Curves, Simple Shapes and Complex Shapes are offered and described below. The Simple
Shapes use a single vertical mirror, while the Complex Shapes use multiple mirrors. Each of them consists
of a simple curve plus one or more mirrors. This can easily be seen when looking at the Mirrors button on
the Left Toolbar (See page 33).
Each Curve shape can be simplified or made more complex by clicking the Mirrors button. This can be
useful in determining which handle needs to be manipulated, or in creating custom designs.

Simple Curves

Clicking on one of these buttons will place a simple curved line in the LMB colour
onto the workspace, filling the workspace as much as possible. The size of the
shape can be limited either by starting with a stitch pattern with the desired quant-
ities of stitches and rows, or by placing a selection box onto the existing workspace,
which has been opted for in the example. Alternatively, the blue and green curve
handles can be manipulated until the required size is achieved. It is possible that during the course of
moving the handles, one or other of them disappears from view. What happens is that it ends up outside
the workspace, and can be 'retrieved' by zooming out of the stitch pattern sufficiently to show the area
outside it.

The first curve option was chosen, resulting in a symmetrical shape.

The blue and green handles that appear on the workspace are used to
manipulate the shape until it is as required. As they are positioning
handles they can be moved outside of the selection box in order to
achieve the required result. However, the shape itself stays within the
selection box.

If any point is clicked other than the handles the shape will be
placed on the workspace as it is.

When the symmetrical curve has been selected the round handles will
move in relationship with each other. When one is moved, the other
mirrors the movements. Either handle can be used to make the shape more shallow by moving it upwards
in this case, or more pointed by moving it inwards. The square handles operate independently of each
other and can be used to angle the curve in any way. The shape can be contained in the selection box by
operating both square handles in turn until it is in the correct position. If the second asymmetrical shape
option is chosen then all handles will be moved independent of each other.

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With the handles visible the curve can easily be flipped horizontally by pressing the
"Ctrl" key, or vertically by pressing the "Tab" key. Using "ctRL" flips Right / Left,
"Tab" flips Top And Bottom. Or the handles can be manipulated in such a way that
they swap places, taking care to stay within the constraints of the selection box. The
result of such manipulation can be seen on the left.
If the selection box is hidden by clicking on one of the "Show selection box" buttons
in the Top Toolbar, the shape will immediately grow to fill the workspace as much as
it can. Clicking the "Show selection box" button again will show it and restrict the shape to it, unless any
other action was taken in the mean time.

In the images above different manipulations are demonstrated with their results. The first image shows the
round blue handle in the process of being moved (see red circle). The blue circle stays in place until the
mouse is released after which it is fixed to the new position and the curve shape has changed simul-
taneously (second image). Moving the square handle follows the same method, showing a little square with
arrow (see red circle) but not applying the changes until the mouse has been released, as is shown in the
fourth image. The fourth image also shows how moving the square handle has moved the round handle
(red arrow) outside of the selection box that is shown as a white line (see blue arrow).
If the result is not as wanted the workspace or selection box can quickly be cleared for the next attempt by
pressing the "Delete" or "Esc" key on the keyboard or by using the Edit / Clear Yarn colours menu option.
The Undo button on the Left Toolbar does not become available until after the curve has been accepted on
to the workspace by clicking outside of its handles, as DesignaKnit sees all curve manipulations until it is
complete as one action.

Simple Shapes

When one of these shapes is clicked on, a heart, ovoid or drop shape is placed on
the workspace with accompanying square and round handles. The shape can be
manipulated in much the same way as has been described for the simple curves,
but will try to retain its proportions as much as possible.

In this example the heart shape was selected. The shape

together with its handles fills the workspace, one of the handles
even extends slightly beyond it. The green handles govern the
top half of the shape and the blue ones the lower half.
It can take a little experimentation with moving the various
handles to model the shape to requirements, but if all else fails
the process can easily be started anew. It can be helpful to think
of the round handles as invisibly attached to the side of the
shape that it governs. Moving the handle is pulling on the shape.
The square handles govern the join points of the shape lines.
Pressing the "Ctrl" key will flip all the shape with all its handles
left to right and pressing "Tab" will flip it top to bottom.

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The square handles are attached to

the join points of these three simple
shapes to keep the halves together.
They can be used to lengthen or
shorten the shape if they are moved
vertically, as can be seen in the first
image on the left.
If they are moved horizontally they will separate the join points if moved towards the side that has the round
handles, or cross over if moved away from the side with round handles.

The round handles influence the

curvature of the lines. Moving the
handle closer to the shape flattens
the curve, moving it away will make
it more pronounced. If one of the
round handles is moved to the other
side of the shape this will have a
crossover effect on the shape.
The manipulation always involves
both halves of the shape so that it remains symmetrical. As the process is the same for the ovoid and drop
shapes these have not been described separately.

Complex Shapes

After preparing the workspace with the correct size, palettes, colours, the right
Pencil or Brush shapes and possibly a selection box, clicking on one of these
predefined, complex shapes will place it on the workspace, filling the available area
as much as possible.
The top third shape from the left was chosen for the example below. The workspace
was used without a selection box and zoomed out so the shape shows as clearly as
possible. The Palette and Position Pointers were both moved aside to leave the workspace uncluttered.

Looking at the basic shape it consists of two 'stars' on top of each

other. The green handles control one star shape (outer in this
case) and the blue handles the other (inner in this case).
The square handles are visibly attached to a 'join' point on the
shape, while the round handles are more invisibly connected to
pull the shape wider or narrower.

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In order to demonstrate how the handles work, the green ones

were left unaltered and the blue (inner shape) handles were
moved towards the middle. The join point has separated by the
manipulation (see blue arrow).
The outer star shape has not altered in this case, although at
times it may do so in order to be congruent with the way in which
handles work in DesignaKnit.
Using any of the handles will affect the entire shape in all direc-
tions, ensuring it will be a symmetrical design in four directions.

All the Complex Shapes work in the same way with an inner and outer shape which can be manipulated
separate from each other.

Pressing the 'Ctrl' key will swap over the handles from one side to the other but will not affect their function.
This can be useful if the handles need to be pulled outside of the workspace. There is room to do this to the
right of the workspace, but on the left side the Toolbar will limit the movements.

Some further manipulation demonstrates the use of the round

handles. Moving the green round handle upwards rounds the
outer star petals so they become fuller, while moving the blue
round handle upwards narrows the petals of the inner star.
Pulling either of the handles to the opposite side can provide inter-
esting results.
As soon as the mouse is clicked outside of the shape the handles
disappear and the design is fixed to the workspace. DesignaKnit
sees the manipulation of the shape until it is fixed on the
workspace as one action so if the result is not as expected the
Undo button on the Left Toolbar only needs to be clicked once to
clear the workspace ready for the next attempt.
Alternatively, pressing the "Delete" or "Esc" key on the keyboard or using the Edit / Clear Yarn colours
menu option can be used to the same effect.

A more complicated design such as the one on the left can be created
quickly by using a Simple Curve, Pattern Repeats and Mirrors.

Once the handles have disappeared by clicking outside of them they

cannot be retrieved and the stitch pattern is placed on the
workspace. If it is not as required the process needs to be started
again.

The design can be worked on further by using any of the drawing tools.
Although pattern repeats are in effect they cannot be seen in the image
on the left as their display has been switched off using the View /
Boundary menu option. A brief description of how this stitch pattern
was arrived at follows below. The grid is not visible in the image as the zoom factor is such that its display is
removed. When zooming in the grid will be visible again unless it has been deactivated in the Top Toolbar.

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The design is started by

creating a blank stitch pattern
of the desired size and propor-
tion. For this example, the
pattern was repeated 3 times
across and down on the
workspace to have 9 squares
to work with. The Grid was
hidden while keeping the
boundary visible, so that the
Curve design and how it straddles the repeats can be seen clearly.
Ensuring the Pencil tool was clicked last and the required colour associated with the LMB a Simple Curve
was placed on the workspace. Initially it is placed in the centre of the workspace, which is the middle
pattern repeat in this example. As soon as the tagged selection box is deactivated by clicking on its button
in the Top Toolbar, the curve shape that can be manipulated moves to the top left corner. Each pattern
repeat contains a copy of the curve and as the one with handles is manipulated, all copies will follow suit.
The handles can be manipulated in such a way that the curve will straddle the pattern boundaries, as has
been demonstrated in the images below.

With the handles still showing the Mirrors button can be clicked repeatedly, which will result in different
shapes such as the ones shown here.

Flood Fill

Flood Fill is used to fill an area of the stitch pattern with a colour. The area is limited by boundaries
which can consist of a selection box or a surround of other colours in the pattern. A single colour area can
be filled with another colour or a single stitch area can be filled with another stitch, depending on colour or
symbol mode.
If a selection box is visible on the workspace, the Flood Fill tool can be used to fill the area within the selec-
tion box, or the area outside of the selection box. If the Flood Fill cursor is clicked within a selection box, this
will be filled. If it is clicked outside of the selection box, the box will be excluded and the surrounding area
filled.
If in Symbol mode the colours will be ignored and the pattern regarded as consisting of certain stitches
only. It can be useful to switch off the colour view by clicking the "view yarn colours" in the Top Toolbar or
unticking View / Yarn colours in the menu when working with stitch symbols.
Stitch symbols and colours can be combined in one mouse button (See page 228).

Making sure the correct colours or symbols are

in the palette and active the Flood Fill button can
be ticked. The cursor changes to a paint bucket
and can be used to flood an area of choice. The
colour that is used depends on the colour the
mouse button that is clicked is associated with. If
'red' is associated with the LMB and 'blue' with the RMB, clicking the LMB will result in red and RMB in blue.

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In the image the first two pictures show a green area that is 'flood filled' with red by clicking the mouse
button that was 'loaded' with red. In the third and fourth picture a selection box was drawn on the screen
which limited the flood fill to just this area.

When the Flood Fill button is clicked the two options shown on the left appear below the drawing
tools. The first one will fill the area with the required colour without passing it to stitches that touch diagon-
ally and the second will pass the colour to stitches that touch diagonally.

In these images the starting point is shown in

the first picture. The light blue colour needs to
be flood filled with lavender. If the first option is
clicked (not passing the colour to diagonally
touching stitches) the result is leaving those
stitches light blue.
If the second option is selected the diagonally touching stitches will be filled with lavender as well.

Rectangle

The Rectangle tool is used to draw rectangular shapes on the workspace. The Rectangle is drawn in
the colour that is associated with the mouse button that is used and is always the width of one stitch. The
shape can either be open or filled, depending on the option selected on the "Tool constraints" box.

As soon as the button is clicked the "Tool constraints" option box as shown on the left
appears below the drawing tools. Clicking the hollow square results in an open shape,
clicking the blue square draws the shape with the LMB contents and fills it with the RMB
contents.
An open rectangle will be drawn in the colour of the mouse button that it is drawn with. Using
the 'filled' option and drawing with the LMB will draw the outline in the colour of the LMB and
the shape is filled with the colour of the RMB and vice versa. If the MMB is used the shape is
both outlined and filled with the colour associated with the MMB.
A "Freehand" Rectangle can be drawn in any direction. The "Stits = rows" option will produce an equal
amount of stitches and rows, resulting in what appears to be a square. This is not necessarily the case for
the knitted garment as it depends on the tensions used: it will only be a square if the tension has an equal
amount of stitches to rows. The "Xcm = Ycm" (or "Xin = Yin" if inches is the unit of measurement) produces
an actual square in the knitted garment, based on the tensions given and will adjust the stitches and rows
of the line for the pattern accordingly.
A filled rectangle can be drawn in a combination of a Yarn colour and a Stitch symbol by first drawing it in
either two colours or symbols and then using Palette / Convert Yarn Colour or Palette / Convert Stitch
Symbol to change one or other of these elements.

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In this example three filled rectangles are drawn in the

top image, using the LMB, RMB and MMB in turn,
showing that the LMB outline was filled with the RMB
colour and vice versa, while the MMB is a solid
rectangle.

A selection box needs to be drawn to limit the effects

to only that area.

Next to each of the

plain rectangles
the result of
applying a selec-
tion box, then using Palette / Convert Yarn Colour is
shown, answering "No", then "Yes" to change to one
colour. In (1) the LMB symbol was added to the LMB
colour, leaving the colours untouched. In (2) the LMB
was added to the LMB colour, but the RMB colour was used to fill the rectangle. The rectangle that was
drawn using the MMB (3) does not change at all.
In the lower image three filled rectangles are drawn while the palette was in Symbol mode (by pressing
"Ctrl-Shift"), as can be seen by the larger white squares on the symbols instead of on the colours. Again,
the three rectangles were drawn using LMB, RMB and MMB in turn.

The same trick was performed for the Symbol rectangles using
Palette / Convert Stitch Symbol to add colour to a stitch symbol
in the selection. The result of answering "No", then "Yes" to
change to one stitch symbol is shown. In (A) the LMB colour was
added to the LMB symbol, leaving the RMB symbols intact. In (B) the rectangle was filled by the RMB
symbol so that only one symbol is used. The rectangle that was drawn with the MMB has not changed,
regardless of whether "No" or "Yes" was clicked.

The examples have been worked out for the Rectangle tool but apply equally to the Ellipse tool

Ellipse

The Ellipse tool is used to draw ellipses or circles on the workspace. The shape is drawn in the colour
that is associated with the mouse button that is used and is always the width of one stitch. The shape can
either be open or filled, depending on the option selected on the "Tool constraints" box.

As soon as the button is clicked the "Tool constraints" option box as shown on the left
appears below the drawing tools. Clicking the hollow circle results in an open shape, clicking
the blue circle fills the shape as it is drawn.
The shape will be drawn in the colour of the mouse button that it is drawn with (RMB, LMB or
MMB). Using the 'filled' option and drawing with the LMB will draw the outline in the colour of
the LMB and the shape is filled with the colour of the RMB and vice versa. If the MMB is
used the shape is both outlined and filled with the colour associated with the MMB.
A filled ellipse can be drawn in a combination of a Yarn colour and a Stitch symbol by first drawing it in
either two colours or symbols and then using Palette / Convert Yarn Colour or Palette / Convert Stitch

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Symbol to change one or other of these elements. The process has been described in detail in Rectangle
(See page 103).
A "Freehand" ellipse can be drawn in any direction. The "Stits = rows" option will produce an equal amount
of stitches and rows, resulting in what appears to be a circle. This is not necessarily the case for the knitted
garment as it depends on the tensions used: it will only be a circle if the tension has an equal amount of
stitches to rows. The "Xcm = Ycm" (or "Xin = Yin" if inches is the unit of measurement) produces an actual
circle in the knitted garment, based on the tensions given and will adjust the stitches and rows of the line for
the pattern accordingly.

Dropper

This button is used to identify a colour, stitch symbol or stitch cable and assign a mouse button to it if
desired. When the button is clicked the cursor changes to a Dropper. When this is hovered over a stitch the
properties of that stitch will appear in the status bar. The Dropper will always start in the mode of the
currently active LMB. If this is a colour then colours will be picked up. If it is a stitch it will pick up stitches,
regardless of what the other mouse buttons are associated with.

In this example the Dropper was hovered

over one of the green stitches in the pattern.
As DesignaKnit was in colours mode the
colour properties of the stitch are shown in
the status bar.
In this case the display shows that this is the
third colour of the palette, the proportions of
Red, Green and Blue that make up this
colour and its name: "Olive". If the LMB had
been clicked while hovering, this colour
would have been associated with it and the
white square would have moved from mauve
to green in the palette.

If DesignaKnit is in Symbol mode, or if the LMB had been associated with a stitch, the
Dropper would pick up stitch symbols instead and display the knitting instructions for that
stitch, as shown on the left. Symbol and colour mode can be switched to by using the "Ctrl-
Shift" key combination.

If the pattern contains a cable and DesignaKnit is in

Symbol mode, hovering the cursor over one of the
cable stitches will identify the cable and display the
name of the cable and its knitting instructions, as
shown on the left. If the cable palette is open on the
workspace, clicking on one of the stitches will jump
to that cable in it.

Trace

Rather than creating a stitch pattern from scratch by mouse or keyboard, a Tablet and Stylus can be
used. This is an elegant way of copying patterns exactly, as a stylus is a much more precise instrument
than a mouse. The Trace Tool is used to transfer an existing picture to the DesignaKnit workspace, after
which it can be saved and used as any other stitch pattern.

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This process requires a tablet and stylus, a picture and DesignaKnit. All need to be prepared in order to
achieve a good result. Considerations for the picture to be traced are that it is clear and fits within the
confines of the tracing area of the tablet. A consideration for the resulting stitch pattern is its initial size.
If the picture to be traced is on graph paper, its size is known and a new stitch pattern of the correct size or
slightly larger can be started in DesignaKnit by using the File / New Pattern Setup menu option (See on
page 53). A selection box can then be drawn to the exact size in stitches and rows as the graph picture to
be traced. If this method is used for sizing it is not necessary to set the "selection box dimensions" as
described below (2) and tracing can be started by clicking the "Trace" button. The stylus point can be used
to 'dot' the correct colour or stitch symbol into each of the grid cells, resulting in an exact match to the
picture. Please note, however, that the non-linearity of some budget graphics tablets may not result in a
perfectly matched graph on the screen, especially if the cells measure less than 2.5mm (1/10th inch) in
either direction.
The tablet needs to be connected to the computer by following the manufacturer's instructions, after which
the picture to be traced needs to be placed onto it in such a way that it does not move during the process.
Some tablets have an acetate overlay sheet to keep the picture in place. The area to be traced must physic-
ally be within the drawing area of the tablet. If pictures are too large, they could be scanned in a separate
action and their size reduced by scanning or other software. This falls outside the scope of DesignaKnit.
DesignaKnit should be prepared for tracing by clearing as much of the workspace as needed. The palette
and pointer windows can be moved out of the way, either by closing them (clicking the top right hand side
"X" of their windows), or by using the Options / Floating Windows for Palettes etc menu option. The latter
will enable these windows to be moved away from the DesignaKnit workspace, but remain accessible. This
is useful when different colours need to be used for tracing.

Once the tablet is connected, the picture in

place, and the DesignaKnit workspace
prepared, a new stitch pattern can be started
(See on page 53) after which the Trace button
can be clicked. This presents the dialogue
shown on the left.
The "Motif on Tablet" on the left pertains to the
position of the picture on the tablet and the
"Motif in pattern on screen" on the right to the
size and position of the drawing in Stitch
Designer. The numbers on the "Motif on
Tablet" image indicate the positions on the
tablet, while those on the "Motif in pattern on
screen" refer to the selection box positions.
The sizes of the original picture and the
drawing that ends up in DesignaKnit can be different, as shown. In this case the original picture on the
tablet measures 5.37 x 5.06 centimetres. This will be converted to DesignaKnit as a stitch pattern design
measuring 11.9 x 9.5 centimetres (see blue arrow). The precise dimensions will depend on the size of the
graphics tablet, the size of the selection box and the tensions which have been set in DesignaKnit when
starting the new stitch pattern. It is essential that the correct knitting tensions are entered in Options /
Tensions (See on page 420) before beginning a tracing as the ratio of stitches to rows has a direct bearing
on the finished drawing. Altering the tensions after tracing can have an adverse effect on the proportions of
the drawing. Both settings need to be defined in turn.

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 Design Tools (Complete)

Clicking the "Indicate position on tablet" button (1)

changes the workspace to a white area into which the
instruction box shown on the left appears. The stylus
needs to be used to click on the respective edges of
the picture on the tablet. The box will change to
indicate to click Left, Right, Top and Bottom in turn.
Care needs to be taken that the cursor on the
computer screen is within the confines of the Desig-
naKnit workspace when the edges are clicked by the
stylus on the tablet. This defines the traceable area
as well as the size of the image, which is reflected in the "Dimensions" (see red oval) and the size in pixels
(see blue oval). In this example the Width and Height are given in centimetres because this is the defined
measurement in Options / Units of Measurement. It can easily be changed to inches instead if desired.

The size that is achieved by clicking on all four edges will be remembered for the next Tracing session.

Clicking the "Set selection box

dimensions" button (2) shows the
workspace with a tagged selection
box. Initially this will be displayed
over the left half of the stitch pattern,
with the "selection box position and
dimensions" window. This can be
closed or moved out of the way.
When the tagged selection box
covers half of the stitch pattern
workspace only the right hand side
handles can be accessed. Changing
the zoom level and / or moving the visible handles allows correct positioning. In the image on the left, the
"selection box position and dimensions" window was closed and the handles were moved so that the
middle handle became visible, allowing the box to be moved and resized easily.
When the selection box is the desired size, the Trace Tool in the Left Toolbar has to be clicked (as indic-
ated in the grey box) which returns to the workspace with the "Tracing Mode" dialogue.

If "Set selection box dimensions" is clicked again, the tagged selection box will be the default size and
needs to be reset.

When both "Indicate position on tablet" (1) and "Set selection box dimensions" (2) have
been prepared, the "Start Tracing" button (3) can be clicked, which returns DesignaKnit to
the workspace. The cursor will have changed to an image of a tracing tablet, as shown on
the left. As long as the stylus on the tablet is within the confines of the DesignaKnit
workspace there will be an additional "+" cursor. The middle of the cross is the drawing
point. As the stylus is moved on the tablet, the "+" is moved along with it, tracing the drawing. The stylus
can be used in a continuous line, or clicked point by point to transfer the picture to the DesignaKnit
workspace. If the stylus goes outside the defined area of the tablet, the "+" cursor will disappear. The LMB
or RMB colour can be used to draw, depending on how the stylus is used.

Tablet styli with a single button can be made to behave like a two button stylus by holding the
"Ctrl" key while pressing the single button. This results in the emulation of the second button.

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Stitch Designer uses the Pencil tool to trace. The colour in

which tracing takes place can be changed by moving the
cursor over to the Palette and clicking on a different colour,
then moving it back to the workspace. As long as the "+" cursor
shows on the workspace the movements of the stylus will be
transferred and the picture will be drawn in whichever colour is
selected.
As well as using colours, the Trace tool can be used to trace
stitch symbols, allowing accurate positioning of different stitch techniques. This is done by hovering the
cursor over the palette and clicking on a stitch symbol. This 'loads' whichever mouse button was used with
the chosen stitch symbol. The adjustments from the first to the second image were achieved by changing
the colour to correct the heart shape, then switching to the Purl symbol to draw Purl stitches over the pink
outline.
Once tracing is complete, the Trace button on the Left Toolbar has to be clicked again, after which the
"Tracing Mode" dialogue appears. Clicking "Cancel" ends the tracing session, leaving the traced result on
the workspace. DesignaKnit retains the settings and, as long as the result is saved, this tracing session can
be resumed at a later time by opening the stitch pattern and clicking the Trace button, followed by "Start
Tracing". The dimensions of tablet and selection box will be as they were.

Lettering

Adding a name or a slogan to a new or existing stitch pattern becomes easy with the Lettering Tool.
Lettering is applied to a single stitch pattern repeat, which needs to be at the correct size if it is to be used
once across a garment piece. If the stitch pattern is smaller than the garment piece to which it is to be
applied, (possibly unwanted) repeats will be shown. An example of how to do this can be found in Fantasy
blanket (See page 217).

Clicking the Abc button presents the "Lettering" dialogue shown

on the left. Any settings that are changed will be retained for
future sessions. The dialogue can be moved away from the
workspace by clicking, holding and dragging its title bar. If the
palette obscures a full view, it can also be moved off the
workspace as long as Options / Floating Windows for Palette etc
has been ticked.
Changes made in this dialogue are immediately reflected on the
workspace. The text that is typed in the "Enter text" section is
presented in a tagged selection box, in the colour of the LMB
and the "Font" and "Font size" that are specified. The tagged
selection box will be the same size as the single stitch pattern
repeat unless a selection box is drawn prior to accessing the
tool.
The "Apply" button can be clicked to fix the changes to the stitch
pattern. This leaves the "Lettering" dialogue open to create
another instance of text. Clicking "OK" closes the dialogue and
fixes the current entry in place. Clicking "Cancel" closes the
dialogue and abandons any changes.
If the result is not as desired, changes can be undone by clicking
the Undo button, Edit / Undo or using "Ctrl-Z".

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Lettering settings (Font, Bold, Italic, Size, Fit to height and / or width, Orientation) are retained for future
sessions, with the same or different stitch patterns. The colour in which the text is drawn will be LMB colour.

Some examples of using Lettering have been shown on the left. In the
top image on the left 'PPP' was entered as text and the Wingdings2 font
was selected.
The handles of the tagged selection box can be clicked, held and
dragged to move or resize it while the dialogue stays open on the screen.
If the mouse is clicked outside of the selection box, or the Enter key is
pressed, a copy is stamped where it is. The tagged selection box is still in
view and can be moved, but it now moves a copy.
If a normal selection box is drawn prior to opening the Lettering tool, it will
change to a tagged selection box as soon as the tool is accessed. Its
maximum size is one pattern repeat. If a box is drawn to span more than
one repeat, it is immediately resized to one pattern repeat on clicking the Lettering tool.
The Font and Font size can be changed, Bold and / or Italic can be applied and the orientation of the text
may be changed. Some of these changes can affect the size of the selection box. The font colour may be
changed at any time during designing by clicking the LMB on a different colour in the palette.
Text will fit according to the chosen "Font Size" options. If "Specify font size" is selected and the height or
width of the selection box are insufficient, the characters will overflow the box. If "Fit to selection box width
(and / or height)" is chosen, the text will change size as the selection box is resized.

The palette and mouse pointer are

moved onto the pattern in this image, but
can be moved out of the way at any time
by using Options / Floating Windows for
Palette etc.
Creating a stitch pattern with the
required text in an opaque and the
background in a transparent colour
allows it to be imported easily into
another stitch pattern, overlaying the text only.
After the text has been fixed onto the workspace, the individual stitches can be edited with any of the other
design tools in the normal way, but cannot be accessed as a "Lettering" item anymore.

Bearing in mind that a

stitch pattern is usually
repeated over an entire
garment piece to fill the
shape, a stitch pattern
with words needs to be
thought out in advance.
One of the supplied stitch
patterns is the xmas.stp
that is shown on the far
left. The middle image
shows the stitch pattern as it appears in Original Pattern Drafting where it has been integrated with a
garment piece by using the File / Integrate menu option. The words that look perfectly fine in the stitch
pattern on its own run together when pattern repeats are used to fill the shape. The rightmost image is from

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Stitch Designer in which a new stitch pattern was created, based on an existing garment piece (See page
54). The xmas.stp was then imported as a single Motif and was dragged to the correct position.

Lace

The Lace tool (See on page 328) can be activated by clicking its button in the Left Toolbar. Although it
has been developed for machine knitting, it can also be useful for hand knitting as lace sequences may be
drawn easily while the cursor is loaded with the lace symbols.

Bird's-eye

The Bird's-eye button is used to create a visual effect of a third colour, while using only two yarns such
as in Fair Isle or 2-colour Jacquard methods, but is not limited to these methods. While it is mainly intended
for using with colours the method can be applied to stitch symbols to create texture effects. Colour and
stitch symbol can not be mixed. If one of the mouse buttons is associated with a colour and the other with a
stitch symbol, the LMB is leading. This means that if the LMB has a colour and the RMB a symbol, both will
use colour. If the LMB has a symbol and the RMB a colour, both will use symbols.
When the Bird's-eye button is clicked all the drawing tools will draw in an alternating stitch pattern, using
the RMB and LMB colours or stitch symbols. If the RMB is pink and the LMB blue, the Pencil tool (and all
other drawing tools, including the Lettering tool) will draw pink and blue stitches alternately. The button
stays active until it is clicked again or the "Esc" key is pressed.
If the Line tool is used with a Bird's-eye effect to create a slanted line, the results may not be as expected
as DesignaKnit tries to fit a pattern to a line that is only one stitch wide. Brush, Pencil and Flood Fill are all
tools where Bird's-eye can be used very effectively.

The Bird's-eye tool has three

different states. The icons shown here represent
the Off and On state and a third option that
produces a sparser effect of Bird's-eye. The
states can be cycled through by clicking the
button repeatedly.
The image on the left shows different effects
that can be achieved. Part of the yarn palette
has been shown as an inset to the left and right
of the pattern to illustrate the mouse button
focus for each side of the flower. Each petal was
coloured in with the Fill tool after Bird's-eye was
clicked. The normal 'On' state was used for
petals (A) in which the leftmost petal has the
LMB focussed on pink and the rightmost petal
on light blue. The RMB focus stays on the
darker blue for all petals. Whether the LMB or
RMB is clicked to fill the petal (in this case), or
selection box if one is used, appears to have
little effect while using the normal 'On' state. However, the leftmost top stitch of the fill area is the colour of
the RMB yarn when the LMB is clicked, and vice versa. This is most obvious on small areas of Bird's-eye.
Petals (B) were accomplished by clicking the Bird's-eye button until the sparser distribution is shown, then
using the Fill tool and clicking the LMB to give more weight to the lighter colour. The RMB was clicked with
the sparser Bird's-eye for petals (C) to put the emphasis on the darker blue. Petals (D) finally, were

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 Design Tools (Complete)

achieved by clicking the Bird's-eye button to its 'Off' state before using the Fill tool with LMB and RMB to
colour these petals with a solid colour.

The images on the left show the effect of

using Bird's-eye with symbols. The Bird's-
eye button is used in its normal 'On' state.
The leftmost image shows the Grid view and
the rightmost image Fabric Texture. Part of
the symbols palette is shown as an inset to
illustrate that Knit and Purl are associated
with the LMB and RMB respectively.
Symbols mode is active.
A selection box was drawn around the area for which Bird's-eye is required, after which the Flood Fill tool
was used to fill the selection box with a Bird's-eye pattern of Knit and Purl. The stitch types are alternated to
create a mixed effect when viewed from a distance. The selection box has been left visible over the stitch
symbols area n the Grid view to show where the pattern has been applied.

Fill Pattern

The entire stitch pattern or an area of it can be filled by using an existing stitch pattern, together with
one of the other design tools. This process is most effective when the fill pattern is small as it will repeat
over the entire area that is filled with it.
When the Fill Pattern is picked up it is invisibly placed in the background of the stitch pattern on the
workspace. Using one of the other Design Tools, such as Brush, Pencil or Flood Fill has the effect of uncov-
ering the underlying stitch pattern, making it visible wherever the tool in question touches it.

In order to demonstrate how Fill Pattern works, two stitch

patterns were created. The larger image on the left is the
stitch pattern that will be worked with. It measures 12
stitches x 12 rows and a very simple palette has been
imported (See page 249).
The small stitch pattern measures 5 stitches x 5 rows and
is used as the fill pattern in this section.
It is important to know that, regardless of where a Design
Tool is clicked to start transferring the fill pattern, its
bottom left hand stitch will be positioned on the bottom left hand stitch of the pattern it is drawn into. In this
case, the bottom left pink stitch will always be in the bottom left stitch, regardless of whether it is
'uncovered' or not (see blue arrow).
When the Fill Pattern button is clicked, DesignaKnit will present the "Open Stitch Pattern" dialogue (See on
page 433), from which a stitch pattern needs to be selected. With the larger stitch pattern on the
workspace, the smaller one was selected.

As can be seen when comparing the image on the left with the image
above, the Palette is immediately adjusted to include the colours that have
been used in the smaller pattern.
The Fill Pattern mode is active until the button is clicked again to deactivate,
which loses the fill pattern for this session. If the Fill Pattern mode is
required again, the pattern which is to be the fill pattern needs to be
selected anew.

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Any Design Tool that is clicked after selecting a stitch pattern to be the fill pattern will be 'loaded' with this
pattern instead of the colours that are active in the Palette.
With the fill pattern 'loaded' into Pencil, Brush or Flood Fill, the LMB will apply the pattern wherever it is
clicked. However, using the RMB will apply the RMB colour of the Palette. It can be useful if the RMB is
loaded with a background colour that can then easily be applied without exiting the Fill Pattern mode.
Any of the Design Tools can be used to 'paint' the smaller pattern into the larger one, in effect 'uncovering'
the smaller pattern that is repeated over the entire stitch pattern on the workspace.
The images below show different possibilities. In each case the smaller stitch pattern adheres to its original
position, as can be seen by looking at the red and blue circles that are used to 'track' the same stitches in
each image. Where the stitch is 'filled' in one image and 'empty' in another, the Design Tool has been
prevented from filling because of the constraints, such as a selection box or different colour that takes
precedence.

Mirrors

Mirrors can be used to quickly create a more complex and symmetrical stitch pattern. Whichever
mirror state is selected is applied when using drawing tools, Lasso, importing Motifs, clicking or dragging a
selection box.

The Mirror button can be clicked several times to cycle through all its
states, as shown on the left. From left to right they are: No mirrors (its
default state), Horizontal, Vertical, Four way, Eight way and Spiral
Mirror.

To reverse the direction of cycling through the mirror states the "Ctrl" key can be held down while
clicking.

There are certain considerations to take into account.

An existing (part of a) pattern can be mirrored by enclosing it in a selection box, then clicking on the Mirrors
button until the desired mirroring action is reached, then clicking on the selection box. The contents will be
mirrored, filling as much of the existing stitch pattern as possible. In this way colours, stitch symbols or both
can be mirrored.

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○ If a Mirror state is selected without a selection

box, any Pencil (or other drawing tool, Lasso or
Import Motif) action will use this Mirror state to
stamp the result over the entire stitch pattern in
the chosen pattern. This has been demon-
strated in the example on the right where Pencil
and Brush tools were used to place colours and
stitch symbols. In the leftmost image the Eight
way mirror was on and the Pencil tool clicked
only in the position that shows the Pencil. In the rightmost image several more colours and the Purl
stitch symbol were placed, using the Brush tool, shown here faintly as a small open square over one
of the pink areas.
○ If a selection box is drawn prior to using the Mirror tool, mirroring will take place within that selection
box.
○ If a pattern is drawn prior to using the Mirror tool, a selection box may be drawn around the part that
is to be mirrored afterwards. Selecting the desired Mirror state, then clicking on the selection box will
mirror its opaque contents over the entire stitch pattern. Transparent colours will be ignored. An
example has been given below, using a 13 rows x 13 stitches stitch pattern. A small colour pattern
was then drawn to be mirrored and a selection box was drawn around it (see blue arrow). Any other
tools should be deactivated by clicking the relevant buttons. With the selection box visible, the Mirror
button can be clicked repeatedly until the desired option is shown. Subsequently clicking on the
selection box will apply the mirroring. In the images below, Horizontal, Four way, Eight way and
Spiral mirror have been applied in turn. As the stitch pattern has an uneven number of stitches and
rows, the mirror images are neatly organised around them.

○ Mirroring takes place relative to the entire stitch pattern or selection box, using the centre of the stitch
pattern as a guide, and overlapping what is already there. This means that if drawing tools (or Lasso
or import Motif) are used at the edge of the stitch pattern or selection box, the mirroring action will
place the copies towards the edges. If drawing takes place towards the middle, the copies will be
placed much closer together. If stitch cells are already filled, the mirroring process may overwrite
them.
○ The centre line of a stitch pattern consists of an actual row or stitch column and not the imaginary
dividing line. This means that, for the pattern to properly mirror, the stitch pattern must consist of an
uneven number of stitches and rows, so that a real centre can be established by DesignaKnit. If
necessary, rows and stitch columns can be added or deleted (See on page 87).

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Mirroring can just as easily take

place with stitch symbols,
resulting in stitch textures being
copied in patterns.

Depending on the symmetry

(horizontal or vertical) of the
symbols used they may appear to
swap over, as can be seen in the first image on the left. However, this is an optical illusion, which is easily
seen when the 'weave under' symbols are replaced by Purl symbols.
Another example of the use of the Mirror tool can be found in the "Curves" section (See page 101).

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Convert Images
Image Size and Colours 116
Conversion Settings 118
Knitting Method 122
Examples 123

Graphic files can be opened and converted to stitch patterns within Stitch Designer, although much more
detailed control can be exercised in DesignaKnit Graphics Studio. As previews are possible during working
with graphic files in that section, the effects of the different options can be seen before committing to
changes. The DesignaKnit Graphics Studio manual contains detailed descriptions of many ways in which
to manipulate and convert images after which they can simply be opened in Stitch Designer.
The Stitch Designer option to convert graphics can successfully be used to convert smaller images, such
as line drawings and simple colour images for which the conversion rate is 1 pixel per stitch and row.
Larger images and photographs, whether black and white or with more complicated colour requirements,
are best converted to stitch patterns in DesignaKnit Graphics Studio.

While Stitch Designer offers several options to convert a graphic to a stitch pattern, DesignaKnit
Graphics Studio is generally recommended instead as much more control can be exercised.

Image files can be accessed

through the File / Thumbnails
or File / Open Stitch Pattern
menu option. In either case,
"Graphic Files" needs to be
chosen from the drop down
list (see cursor arrow in the
images on the left), after which all graphic files that are present will be shown in Thumbnails (See on
page 465) or file list (See on page 468) format, depending on the option that is chosen. Graphic files can be
searched (See page 467) and sorted (See page 468).
As the Stitch Designer default folder (See page 37) contents are presented, the folder where the images
reside may need to be navigated to in order to find the desired image.

All major picture formats are

supported, as can be seen in the
examples on the left where a .png,
.jpg and .bmp file are shown in
Thumbnails view. If the details box is
ticked, size information is shown in pixels, which is the size in stitches and rows if this graphic were
converted without any adjustments. Simple images without too much detail and with well defined colour
areas, such as line drawings or logos can be opened and converted into a stitch pattern very successfully
by using Stitch Designer. For more complex pictures and photographs it is generally better to use Desig-
naKnit Graphics Studio.
Graphic images generally contain too many pixels to be converted at a one pixel per stitch ratio and too
many colours to be converted into yarns, so both numbers of stitches and colours will most likely need to be
reduced. DesignaKnit offers different ways in which to manipulate the graphic so that the clearest possible
image will result when knitted. The dialogues that are presented during the Stitch Designer conversion
process allow the target stitch pattern size to be entered, the number of colours to be chosen and the
knitting method to be selected in turn.

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Image Size and Colours

After opening the image, the first dialogue that is presented deals with size because, if the source graphic
file is very large, it can be impractical to work with in Stitch Designer. The conversion size that is offered is
identical to the number of pixels of the image, so that if a photograph were to be imported as it is, Desig-
naKnit would offer hundreds if not thousands of stitches and rows, depending on the resolution of the
image. Although DesignaKnit will place the resulting image on the workspace with all the detail it can
muster, it will be much wider than the needle bed or the workable span of the knitting needles.
The required physical size of the final stitch pattern should be decided and kept in mind as this is the
leading measurement, whether its dimensions are entered at the start of the conversion process or after-
wards. Generally, if a stitch pattern is created from an image it is meant to feature prominently on one of the
garment pieces without repeats, and will need to fit comfortably within the intended piece.

The size of any piece in an opened shape file (See page

179) can be found by using the View / Piece Sizes menu
option, which will open the "Pattern Piece Sizes" inform-
ational window. The size of the intended stitch pattern
can be decided by deducting the number of stitches or
rows needed to make up the space around it from the
stitches or rows of the relevant piece. E.g., if an image is
intended for the "BACK" piece that is shown here, the
space either side of the image might be decided to be 36,
so that the image width is half the size of the entire width
of the piece. Deducting 72 (border on both sides) returns a stitch pattern size of 72 stitches. If the same
principle were applied to one of the "FRONT" pieces, the image width would be 43 stitches.
If the first "Auto Convert Image" dialogue (See page 117) is used for resizing, stitches and rows both need
to be entered. As seen in the example above, it is relatively easy to determine one of these measurements.
As a rule of thumb, the number of rows may be the limiting factor for a tall image, while for a square or wide
image the number of stitches is likely to be the limiting factor (although it also depends on the piece dimen-
sions). The other measurement will have to be worked out.

A division factor could be worked out and the number of stitches and
rows could simply be divided by this number. This would seem logical as
the image should be proportionally correct. However, this can result in an
image that may not be proportionally pleasing with the current tension.
Dividing the (194 x 132 pixel) dimensions of the image shown here by 4
would result in 48.5 stitches by 33 rows.
A more accurate option to determine the number of pixels to use for stitches and rows is to use DesignaKnit
Graphics Studio in which stitches or rows can be determined after which the program will suggest the
corresponding measurement, based on the current tension. This is generally the better option as the
tension used will influence the proportions of the image that is converted.

Accessing File / Grid

Settings in DesignaKnit
Graphics Studio will
present the "Grid
Settings" dialogue, part
of which is shown on the
left.

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As the current tension is used for calculation, care should be taken that this is the correct tension for the
intended stitch pattern and garment piece (See on page 420). Different tensions will lead to a different
requirement of number of stitches and / or rows. Care should also be taken that the entire image is covered
in the grid area by using the Edit / Select All menu option or "Ctrl-A", so that the values for "current grid
area" and "entire image" are identical (see blue rectangle).
The desired number of stitches can be entered into the "No. of Stitches" field (see red arrow), based on the
required width of the pattern, which will result in 15 centimetres in this example. The corresponding number
of rows is automatically calculated and displayed above the "No. of Stitches" section (see red circle). This
number will have to be entered in the "No. of Rows" entry field (see blue arrow) to result in a proportionally
correct stitch pattern. Alternatively, the "No. of Rows" field could have been entered first after which the
resulting stitches value would need to be entered in the "No. of Stitches" field, so they match. Either section
can be used to experiment with different sizes.

The entries above "No. of Stitches" or "No. of Rows" should match to result in a proportionally correct
stitch pattern.

A note should be taken of the desired values before returning to Stitch Designer as both values need to be
entered into the "Auto Convert Image" dialogue. More detailed information about the "Grid Settings"
dialogue can be found in the DesignaKnit Graphics Studio manual.

Opening the image (graphic file) in Stitch

Designer presents the first "Auto Convert
Image" dialogue as shown on the left. The
initial values are identical to the image size
values, which in this case is 194 stitches and
132 rows.
The required values, if different, need to be
entered. In this case, the desired size as
calculated in DesignaKnit Graphics Studio is
45 stitches by 41 rows. Both values need to
be changed.
From then on the stitch pattern will be that
size, meaning that an image area of 4.3 x 3.2
pixels (194 divided by 45 and 132 divided by 41) will convert into one stitch. Some of the detail of the
original image will inevitably be lost, based on the desired size. Had the required size been larger, fewer
pixels would have needed to be converted, retaining more detail.
Another way of dealing with the size and dimensions of the image is to initially accept the full pixel values,
decide the Conversion options and number of colours and click "OK" on the method of knitting when this is
presented, disregarding any warning messages. Once the image is on the workspace, the Modify / Rescale
menu option (See on page 164) can be used to end up with a different size and / or dimensions. The
advantage of this method is that the scaling action can be easily undone by using the "Undo" button or
"Ctrl-Z". The disadvantage is that the stitch pattern to be worked with can be large and unwieldy before
rescaling.
"Cancel" abandons the operation and returns to the Stitch Designer workspace as it was before opening
the graphic file. If the same image is opened again, values that were altered will need to be entered anew,
as all options, including any settings in the "Conversion Settings for Picture" dialogue will have returned to
default settings.
"OK" accepts the default options and advances to the second "Auto Convert Image" dialogue in which the
number of colours can be stipulated.

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Clicking the "Conversion Settings for Picture" button opens the dialogue that accesses the available
conversion options that dictate how many and which colours are used as yarns and how they are divided
between colour areas and edges.

Conversion Settings
Different options can be used to generate palette colours to match the colours of the graphic as closely as
possible. This dialogue can be accessed by clicking “Conversion settings for Pictures” from either the first
or second "Auto Convert Image" dialogue.

This dialogue can be

used to fine tune the
resulting stitch pattern.
The default setting, with
most options greyed out
is shown on the left.
As Options "1" and "2"
use a preset procedure
to render the resulting
stitch pattern, nothing
can be changed.
Automated dithering
logarithms are used to
produce a stitch pattern
that is as close to the
original as possible.
Option "1" uses fine and
Option "2" coarser
dithering, as can be
seen in examples
shown below (See page 120).
The "Show preview at one pixel per stitch and per row" is greyed out as it only applies in DesignaKnit
Graphics Studio where it shows a small preview at the top of the workspace.
The maximum colours per row cannot be changed separately from the maximum number of colours in
total, which can be changed in the dialogue that is presented next on clicking "OK" (See page 121).

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 Convert Images (Complete)

Option "3" allows more

user control, as can be
seen in the image on
the left where different
options are available.
If "Maximum colours
per row" is changed in
this dialogue, the value
will be carried through
to the next "Auto
Convert Image"
window, where it can
still be altered if
required (See page
121).
To change between
Options 1, 2 and 3 the
"Conversion Settings
for Picture" will need to
be accessed again.
All "Conversion Settings for Pictures" options have been worked out and explained in more detail in the
DesignaKnit Graphics Studio manual.
Whereas Options 1 and 2 result in finer or coarser dithering by arranging the image pixels in slightly
different ways, Option 3 can be used to set the degree of Bird's-eye (See on page 110) and to direct Desig-
naKnit how to treat the transition between colour areas by selecting to "Keep edges sharp" or "Merge
Colour boundaries".

To illustrate these last two options, an image has been used here,
comprising three colours. In this case they are black, white and grey, but
they could have been any three colours where two of them would mix to
produce the third.
If this image file is converted to a different number of stitches and rows than
its original number of pixels (to alter its size), DesignaKnit needs to decide
which pixels need to be converted to which colour, as some of them will
most likely be a mix. If the palette contains black, white and grey, choosing
the "Keep edges sharp" option will ensure that the colours are used as
shown in the original image. Selecting "Merge Colour boundaries" will
result in adding grey pixels in different places to diffuse the edges. For any
given image cell, two colours are selected from the palette that, when
mixed, are closest to the average colour of the pixels in that image cell, and
that yarn colour will be used where there is a boundary. If the image truly
consists of just black and white, Stitch Designer will only place these two
colours in the palette and the "Merge colour boundaries" option will have no
effect.
"Keep edges sharp" is generally used for bold designs (as in this example)
with well defined areas of colour and "Merge colour boundaries" is more suitable for images with less well
defined colour areas. The former leads to sharper and the latter to more diffuse images.

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Using the "Bird's-eye" option in this black and white example will only have an effect if the number of
colours per row is set to "2".

The images on the left illustrate

effects of choosing different
Bird's-eye options as well as the
results of choosing both dithering
options.
The original image was created
by using Microsoft Word shapes
that were coloured in by a
gradient fill.
The original image was opened in
Stitch Designer at the size that
was suggested in DesignaKnit
Graphics Studio, and in all cases
8 colours per row was chosen,
with 8 colours in total for Option
3. A section of the resulting stitch
pattern is shown in Fabric
Texture view to give the clearest
representation of each option.
The effects of dithering option 1
and 2 are shown in the smaller
images to the left of the original
and subtle differences can be
seen in fine and coarser
dithering.
The effects of Maximum and No
Bird's-eye for Option 3 can be
seen in the four larger images
where they are shown with "Keep
edges sharp" as well as "Merge
colour boundaries".
The Maximum Bird's-eye setting leads to the truest representation of the gradient fill. Bird's-eye is
especially good for large areas where there is a slight gradient of hue or brightness.

The more colours are chosen, the closer the knitted result
will resemble the original image. In the image on the left a
maximum of 16 colours per row and in total was chosen.
Selecting Maximum Bird's-eye while keeping the edges
sharp led to a result that is very close to the original image,
although it will not be easy to find all required yarns to
match the 16 colours on the Stitch Designer palette
precisely.

There is a trade-off between a workable number of

colours and approximation of the original image.

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Whichever effect is chosen, the final image will be converted to a stitch pattern that will most likely need to
be adjusted to adhere to the rules of the chosen method, in order to be knitted. Clicking "OK" accepts the
selected options and presents the next dialogue.

Whether "OK" was clicked on the

first "Auto Convert Image" or the
"Conversion Settings for Picture"
window, the next dialogue that
may be presented is as shown on
the left.

This dialogue appears only if

the image contains too many
colours to be converted to
yarns.

If "OK" has been clicked in the

first "Auto Convert Image"
dialogue (effectively choosing
Option 1) or if Option 2 has been selected, the number of colours per row will be greyed out as shown here.
Changing the "Maximum number of colours in total" will alter the "Maximum number of colours per row" to
match.

If Option 3 has been selected, both Maximum

number of colours per row and in total can be
changed. The maximum number of colours in
total has to be equal to or greater than the
maximum number of colours per row. If this is not the case, the message as shown here will appear. Desig-
naKnit will automatically merge similar colours based on these settings. The higher the entered numbers
are, the more truly the image will be reflected, although very good results can also be achieved by choosing
fewer colours. Choosing too many colours may be impractical as it will lead to a lot of yarn changing.
○ Options 1 and 2 - The number of colours per row cannot be entered separately and is equal to the
number of colours in total, with a maximum of 8.
○ Option 3 - The number of colours per row can be entered separately to the number of colours in total,
with a maximum of 16 per row and 48 in total in the stitch pattern, which is also the maximum number
of colours that will fit on the Stitch Designer palette.
Taking the restrictions of the maximum numbers of colours that were entered into account, Stitch Designer
tries to add every colour variation that it 'sees' into the intended stitch pattern. A view has to be taken
whether to manually alter the colours to a realistic number by using the Stitch Designer tools, thereby
exercising full control, or to let DesignaKnit take the decisions based on the selected options in the "Conver-
sion Settings for Picture" dialogue. The intended method of knitting is also a factor to be taken into account,
as the final number of colours that can be present in a stitch pattern is dictated by it (See page 363).
If the image is very simple with few colours in well defined areas, the required numbers can be entered into
each box and "OK" clicked. If the image is less well defined with a lot of colours it may be a good idea to
start with the maximum number of colours and then control them after the stitch pattern has been placed on
the Stitch Designer workspace by using the Exchange (See page 230) and Replace (See page 230)
features in the palette or manually altering colours with various other Drawing Tools (See page 92).
Either "Back" or "Conversion Settings for Picture" can be used to change Options. Using the "Back" button
allows the size of the image to be changed as well as which conversion option is to be used, while the

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Convert Images (Complete)

"Conversion Settings for Picture" button accesses the conversion options and number of colours dialogue
directly.
"Cancel" abandons the operation and returns to the Stitch Designer workspace as it was before opening
the graphic file. Clicking "OK" advances to the next dialogue where the method of knitting needs to be
selected.

It is a good idea to try the same graphic image with as few and as many colours as possible
to gain an understanding of which method may work best with a particular image as
choosing more colours does not necessarily lead to a better stitch pattern.

Knitting Method
The last dialogue in this process allows the method of knitting to be changed for the as yet "Untitled" stitch
pattern.

The "Machine Knit

Options" dialogue
(See page 347) is
presented from which
a different method
may be selected.
Hand knitting can be
chosen instead,
which will then
present the Hand Knit
Options (See page
340) dialogue.
For Machine knitting
it can be useful to
select a method such as Intarsia to allow the maximum number of 16 colours per row, which will provide
maximum flexibility in working with the converted stitch pattern on the workspace.
For Hand knitting, stocking stitch is best suited because there is a clear back and front to the fabric,
whereas Garter stitch looks the same on both sides of the work.

Changing the Machine knitting method after the stitch pattern has been converted will change the
knitted result. Changing the Hand Knitting method after conversion will affect the expectedness of the
stitch (See page 342), but not the knitted result.

Clicking "OK" will place the converted image on the workspace where it can be saved as a stitch pattern.
The "Cancel" button in this dialogue refers only to the method of knitting, not the conversion process. As
DesignaKnit has all the necessary information to convert the image, it will be placed on the workspace
regardless of which method of knitting was chosen or whether this dialogue was cancelled.

The conversion process produces a stitch pattern on the

Stitch Designer workspace whether there were any warning
messages, such as the one shown on the left, or not. Any
messages can be dealt with after the stitch pattern has been
placed.

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Messages are least likely to occur for machine knitting if the Intarsia method is chosen.
The converted image will be placed on the workspace as an "Untitled" stitch pattern that can be edited and
saved. Further amendments and tweaking will most likely need to be done to make the stitch pattern
adhere to the DesignaKnit rules for the chosen method (See page 363).

Examples
Line drawing 123
Graphic with colours 125

A couple of examples have been worked out below to demonstrate the process, possibilities and pitfalls.
The first image is a clearly defined line drawing, while the second includes colours and fuzzy lines. Both
examples have been worked out including some tweaking to match the resulting stitch pattern as closely as
possible to the original image.
If the image to be worked with is a photograph, is very large and / or contains a lot of colours it will be better
to convert it by using DesignaKnit Graphics Studio which has a different and larger set of tools to facilitate
conversions.

Line drawing

A line drawing is generally easiest to convert as it usually contains only two colours.
The image shown on the left consists of 194 x 132 pixels, which would be converted to
194 stitches by 132 rows if its size were not amended. This would be too large and for
this example it was decided that the final stitch pattern should measure about 15 centi-
metres (5.9 inches) across and 10 centimetres (4 inches) high. The measurements
were worked out in DesignaKnit Graphics Studio to be 45 stitches x 41 rows at a tension of 32 stitches x 40
rows. Different tensions will lead to different amounts of stitches and rows to arrive at the same measure-
ments.

It is not always easy to see the proportions on the

workspace as DesignaKnit has to make jumps in how
pixels are displayed at different zoom levels. The two
illustrations on the left are of the same image at different
zoom levels. Whereas the first image is of pleasing
proportions, it can be misleading as the second image
might be more true to the knitted end result. It is best to rely on the dimensions that are calculated in Desig-
naKnit Graphics Studio as they take the current tension into account.

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For the example shown on the left, the

size was entered as 45 stitches by 41
rows at the first "Auto Convert Image"
window, keeping the "Conversion
Settings for Picture" at Option 1, while in
the second "Auto Convert Image"
window, the number of colours was
limited to 2.

If a line drawing truly consists of two

colours, the option to select the
number of colours does not present
itself.

The method of knitting was accepted

without change at the next dialogue and
the stitch pattern was placed on the
workspace.
For an image such as this one, where there are only two colours, Conversion options 1, 2 and 3 will render
only slightly different results, while setting the number of colours to "2" (if the option is presented) will lead
to the crispest image.
The resulting stitch pattern is shown here with Grid lines and without Grid lines as an inset at the top left
hand side. Part of it was zoomed into and shown in Fabric Texture view in the inset at the bottom to illus-
trate the knitted result before tweaking.

Tweaking of the resulting stitch

pattern - as can be seen from the
images above, some tweaking is
needed to end up with a clear and
pleasing stitch pattern. The letters are
not as clear cut as they could be and
some embellishments could be made.
The letters were filled out and the dot
above the "i" made bolder by using a
combination of Pencil tool to change the
colour of the pixels, and selection box to
move the "i" further from the "H" to
create some space.
To provide contrast between the inside
and outside of the cloud it was decided
to fill the inside with Purl stitches,
leaving all other stitches as Knit. A few steps are needed to achieve this quickly. Firstly, a new temporary
colour needs to be introduced to the palette (See page 237) after which the Flood Fill (See page 102) tool
was used to fill the inside of the cloud with this contrasting colour. This provides the conditions for a colour
and a stitch symbol to be combined (See page 228). Once this is done, the contrasting colour can be
changed back to white by using the Flood fill tool or Replace colour facility (See page 230). The result is
shown here in Fabric Texture view.

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At some later stage it will be easy to play with the design and vary the stitch pattern, simply by adding
different colours to the palette to replace the black and white, or adjusting an existing colour (See page
236).
Changing the stitch texture as described here works best for hand knitting if the initial method was Flat
Stocking or Reverse Stocking because there is a clear back and front to the fabric, whereas Garter stitch
looks the same on both sides of the work.
If the texture changes for machine knitting have been made as suggested here (where the method was Fair
Isle) and the method of knitting is subsequently switched to Right side facing texture, Knit and Purl will be
reversed. Switching to the Right side facing texture method from any of the other methods will reverse the
Knit and Purl stitches.

Graphic with colours

The image shown on the left was used as it is small, has fairly clean lines and defined
colour areas, while still presenting some challenges.
Its original size is 62 x 50 pixels, which might not be optimal in knitted form. After
opening the graphic file in DesignaKnit Graphics Studio its optimal size with a tension of
30 x 40 was decided as 60 stitches by 65 rows for the knitted result to end up with a
width and height of 20 and 16.3 centimetres respectively. The number of rows now
exceeds the number of stitches, different to the original image.
These values were filled in at the first "Auto Convert Image" dialogue.

The images on the left show some results of

using "Conversion Settings for Picture" Option
1. As the original image is fuzzy enough for
DesignaKnit to decide that there could be more
colours than the maximum allowed, the second
"Auto Convert Image" dialogue appears to enter
the total number of colours in the stitch pattern. 8, 4 and 2 colours have been chosen respectively and
resulted in the images as seen from left to right.
The examples have been displayed as they appear on the Stitch Designer workspace and are shown
without Grid lines to demonstrate the results most clearly. All the options show the colour areas in the
centre of the heart with more than just the one colour that seems to appear in the original image, and
although this may make for an interesting pattern, tweaking of the final stitch pattern may be necessary to
end up with fewer yarn changes. Using Option 2 would have led to similar results.

DesignaKnit presents the Fair Isle method of knitting and if

"OK" is clicked, the warning message shown on the right will
appear, unless 2 colours have been chosen in the previous
window. On proceeding, the number of colours that was
chosen in the "Auto Convert Image" window will be present
in the stitch pattern, regardless of the method. DesignaKnit
will include as many colours as are chosen in that window up
to the maximum it can 'see'.
To avoid warning and error messages it can be useful to choose the Intarsia or Right / Wrong side facing
texture methods if a large number of colours is needed as these methods allow for more colours.

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Option 3 allows for

more variations.
Looking at the original
image there should be
no more than 5 colours
in the 'busiest' line (see
red line in the top left
hand inset).
The optimal result, with
the least subsequent
adjustments would be
achieved by selecting 5
colours per row and a
maximum of 5 colours in
total, no Bird's-eye and keeping the edges sharp. Similar colours would automatically be merged to arrive
at this maximum.
However, for this example a maximum of 6 colours per row was chosen to 'catch' any subtleties that may
arise. As the entire image is made up of only those colours, the total number was also set at 6.
The intention is to end up with a crisp image of the two hearts with clearly defined colour areas. Bird's-eye
would diffuse the crisp lines as this setting would create a visual effect of a third colour between colour
areas, so this was set to the furthest left (No Bird's-eye) and as the boundary colours should not be
merged, "Keep edges sharp" was also selected.

Depending on the method chosen a warning

message such as the one shown here may be
displayed and will need to be dealt with after the
stitch pattern has been accepted on to the
workspace.

The resulting stitch pattern is shown above with Grid lines and without Grid lines as an inset. Part of it (see
red rectangle) was zoomed into and shown in Fabric Texture view to illustrate the knitted result before
tweaking.

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Tweaking of the resulting stitch pattern - although not so

easy to discern in the pattern, but easily seen in the palette,
there are two light blue colours that resemble each other so
much that they should be merged to end up with a crisper
pattern and less yarn changing. This is achieved by left
clicking one light blue, right clicking the other light blue in the
palette and then clicking the "Replace" button (See page
230). The colour that has become unused as a result of this
action can be removed from the palette in order to create as
much simplicity in the pattern as possible (See page 236).
The top two images on the left show pattern and palette with
the two light blues. The two images below this show that one
blue has been replaced and the superfluous other blue was
removed from the palette.
Further replacements like this can be made by using the
Selection box (See page 71) to limit the area, then select and
replace the required colours for that selection. There comes
a point where the Pencil (See page 94) tool needs to be used
to place the required colours in the required stitch cells.
Part of the resulting stitch pattern after tweaking is shown on
the left in Fabric Texture view.
The Check (See page 59) menu option can be used to see if
the number of colours per row matches the selected method
and help correct Jacquard and other errors that may occur.

After the stitch pattern is complete and has been saved, it will be
easy to play with the design and vary the hearts by adding different
colours to the palette and replacing existing colours, or simply
adjusting an existing colour(See page 236). A couple of examples
have been shown on the left.

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Manipulating Stitch Patterns

Scaled Paste 129
Motifs 137
Yarn Numbers & Feeders 148
Turn 163
Flip 164
Rescale 164
Variations 167
Vary at Random 170
Shadows & Outlines 171

The Edit, View and Modify menus all offer different ways in which stitch patterns can be manipulated.
These tools are different from the Design Tools (See page 71) as they involve whole stitch patterns. A
number of options in these menus have been described elsewhere in the manual so only the ones that
need clarification are described in this chapter.

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Scaled Paste
Size 130
Colours 133

There are several ways to work with graphics in DesignaKnit. Graphic files can be opened and converted to
a stitch pattern in Stitch Designer or DesignaKnit Graphics Studio. Although the Stitch Designer option
allows some control over size and dithering (See on page 115), DesignaKnit Graphics Studio offers much
more control over size, dithering and colours. Scaled Paste is used to place an image that has been copied
to the clipboard into a stitch pattern.
The Edit / Scaled Paste menu option is used to place a copy of whatever image is in the Clipboard on the
workspace. This can be either a (part of a) stitch pattern that was cut or copied, or an image that was
copied outside of DesignaKnit. If the option is greyed out, the contents of the Clipboard are not a graphic
image or a stitch pattern.
"Scaled Paste" can be used to control the number of pixels that are used to make up one stitch, as well as
reduce the number of colours of an image before pasting it on the workspace, enabling a picture with many
colours to be changed into a stylised version, or as true to its original as possible.

Edit / Scaled Paste presents the

dialogue shown on the left.
The top section contains information
about the size of image in the
clipboard and the stitch pattern on
the workspace, which is helpful in
determining useful scaling.
The bottom section allows black and
/ or white to be excluded, and gives
some control over the number of
colours that will end up in the palette
once the image has been pasted.
Size information is shown in pixels
for the clipboard image and stitches
and rows for the workspace. In the
example on the left, the Clipboard
image to be pasted is 169 pixels
wide (stitches) and 145 pixels high
(rows).
"Clipboard image" size in pixels and "Stitch pattern" size in stitches and rows (see red rectangle) are shown
so that there is always a point of reference to the original size and proportions. These values will not
change during the process of experimenting with different Widths and Heights in pixels.
The "Pasted size" (see blue rectangle) is influenced by changing "Width" and "Height" in pixels. In this
example, "Width" is set at 6, which results in a clipboard image of 28 stitches wide (roughly: 169 divided by
6) and "Height" is set at 4 which, by the same method, results in 36 rows.
The "Pasted size" can be compared to the Stitch pattern size to see if the image will fit inside the stitch
pattern. In this example the converted image will be 28 stitches x 36 rows, which will easily fit inside the 84
stitches x 192 rows stitch pattern. If the clipboard image is required to take up more or less space in the
recipient stitch pattern, the values in "Width" and "Height" in pixels can be reduced or increased respect-

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 Manipulating Stitch Patterns (Complete)

ively. "Width" and "Height" in pixels values operate independent of each other and care has to be taken if
the resulting stitch pattern needs to have the same proportions as the original image.
If the recipient stitch pattern is not the right size, the Scaled paste process can be abandoned by clicking
"Cancel", after which the stitch pattern size can be adjusted to ensure it is large (or small) enough, by using
the "+" and "-" buttons on the Left Toolbar (See on page 87) or by using the Rescale (See page 164) option.

On opening the intended recipient stitch pattern it is recommended to adjust its size as near
to the intended size as possible, delete all unused colours from its palette and have the
intended zoom level. This will make it easier to achieve the required final size, while
reducing the chances of spurious colours in the end result.

Size
It is recommended to use the normal Paste function (Edit / Paste, "Ctrl-V" or the RightClick menu "Paste"
option) if a stitch pattern or part thereof needs to be pasted at its original size in stitches and rows, or an
image needs to be pasted at its original screen size. Scaled Paste is recommended if either of these need
to be pasted at a different size in stitches and rows.

"Scaled Paste" is a quick way of adding a picture to a new or existing stitch pattern at the required size
by altering the number of pixels that make up one stitch.

The initial scaling values that are presented in the "Paste from Clipboard" dialogue are calculated in such a
way that either the number of stitches and rows are identical to the original image (if the copy is a stitch
pattern) or that the screen size of the original image is preserved in the destination stitch pattern (if the copy
is a graphic image). A different size can be achieved by adjusting the number of pixels per stitch and per
row.
For images other than stitch patterns, the zoom level of the recipient stitch pattern has an effect on the size
of the initial Paste, as the size that the pasted image will take up on the screen is identical to the space the
original image took up.

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Manipulating Stitch Patterns (Complete)

If (an area of) a stitch pattern is pasted by

using Edit / Scaled Paste, it will be pasted
at the original size in stitches and rows in
the target stitch pattern, exactly like using a
normal Paste action such as Edit / Paste or
"Ctrl-V". Scaled Paste can be used to
change the size of the pasted result to take
up more or less space in the recipient stitch
pattern.
When looking at the "Paste from Clipboard"
dialogue, the "Clipboard image" size will
reflect its size in pixels as if the copied
stitch pattern is a graphic image. The zoom
level of the pattern or selection box at the
time of copying will be reflected in the pixel
values. Stitch pattern image (1) is larger, so
its "Clipboard image" size is larger than the
second image (2). In both cases the
"Pasted size" is the 20 stitches by 30 rows
of the original stitch pattern it was copied
from (see blue rectangles).
The width and height in pixels have been
adjusted by DesignaKnit to achieve the
original size in stitches and rows and the
result is shown in image (3), where the
pasted image takes up its 20 stitches x 30
rows size in the recipient stitch pattern.
By changing the width in pixels to "3" and
height in pixels to "2", as shown in image
(4) the resulting pasted image will measure 33 stitches and 60 rows and has been shown to take up much
more space in image (5).
As much or as little of the result will be pasted into the top left hand corner of the destination stitch pattern
as will fit.

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 Manipulating Stitch Patterns (Complete)

If a screen bitmap or graphic image from an

outside source is pasted by using Edit / Scaled
Paste, the result will be scaled by DesignaKnit
so that the original screen size of the image is
preserved in the recipient stitch pattern. Width
and height in pixels will have been adjusted to
this end. Different zoom levels in Stitch
Designer will lead to a different number of
stitches and rows of the pasted result, because
the same screen area will contain less stitches
and rows when zoomed in and more when
zoomed out, as illustrated in the images on the
left.
The heart shape was created in Word, then
right clicked and copied. After opening the recip-
ient stitch pattern in Stitch Designer, Edit /
Scaled Paste was used without changing the
zoom level (1). As there are enough stitches
and rows available in the stitch pattern at its
current zoom level to fit the screen size of the
Clipboard image, the width and height in pixels
have been set at "1", resulting in a "Pasted size"
of 55 stitches x 51 rows (see 1a).
After clicking outside of DesignaKnit to force
recalculation of the "Width" and "Height" in
pixels values, the process was repeated with
the same recipient stitch pattern at a different
zoom level (2). This time, although the screen
area is the same size as the original image, the
number of stitches and rows that is taken up by this area is greatly reduced, and 1 stitch now needs to be
made up of 6 pixels wide and 4 pixels high to achieve the same screen size. This results in a pasted image
of 9 stitches x 12 rows (2a).
In both cases, the Clipboard image to be pasted stays the same (see blue rectangles). The "Width" and
"Height" in pixels and "Pasted size" will change according to the screen size of the image. Whenever a new
image is copied to the clipboard, Scaled Paste will recalculate the values.
The initially calculated values in "Width" and "Height" in pixels does not change on subsequent Scaled
Paste actions unless:
○ The focus is moved away from DesignaKnit by clicking outside of it to a different application or
anywhere on the desktop, which will 'force' a recalculation
○ A normal Paste action is performed of the same clipboard image to a different zoom level of the recip-
ient stitch pattern, which will cause recalculation, based on the screen size of initial copied image
and a different zoom level of the recipient stitch pattern
○ DesignaKnit is exited and reopened, which will have lost any values in "Width" and "Height" in pixels

When copying an image from an outside source, its size in pixels depends on the size of the image
itself, not the zoom level of the application it is displayed in. For example, changing the zoom level in
Word has no effect on the size of an image that is copied from there. The image itself has to be resized
by changing its properties at source.

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Manipulating Stitch Patterns (Complete)

Colours
It is recommended to use the normal Paste functions (Edit / Paste, "Ctrl-V" or the RightClick menu "Paste"
option) if a stitch pattern or part thereof is copied because this will retain the original colours and their trans-
parency settings, adding them to the current palette. If an image from an outside source, such as a screen
bitmap or graphic image from Word, Paint etc. is to be pasted, a normal Paste action will automatically
combine similar colours of the image, equivalent to a setting of 5% in Scaled Paste. Using Scaled Paste
allows more control over the number of colours that are to be added to the current palette.

It is recommended to delete unused colours from the palette (See page 236) before pasting
to make room for new colours to be added. If the number of colours to be pasted exceeds
the number of available spaces, unused colours of the palette will be overwritten and it can
be difficult to discern between colours that already existed in the palette and those that have
been added.

"Scaled Paste" can be a quick way of adding a picture to a new or existing stitch pattern, while exercising
some control over the colours that are used in the recipient stitch pattern.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the

cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a
quick way of getting to the relevant section.

The examples used are of the images shown on the

left. A simple image was drawn in Word and a photo-
graph was inserted in Word, after which each was
copied to the clipboard by clicking on the image, then
right clicking and choosing "Copy". The heart image shows how the image appears in Word when it is
clicked on.
All unused colours were deleted from the palette (See page 236), leaving only the light blue background
colour.

Scaled Paste of a simple shape

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 Manipulating Stitch Patterns (Complete)

The initial values of working with the

heart image are shown in the
"Paste from Clipboard" dialogue on
the left with the initial result below it.
Size information has been included
only to be shown in relation to the sections that
deal with colours.
To demonstrate the effects of Scaled Paste on
colours as clearly as possible, the copied image
was pasted into a blank stitch pattern (See on
page 57), which was zoomed out, so that it
would take up a fair amount of the stitch pattern
to result in a good number of stitches, rows and
colours.
Black and white have been included by not
ticking the relevant boxes in the "Exclude
colour" section and colours within a range of 5%
were combined by accepting this value in the
"Combine similar colours from Clipboard"
section.
These settings resulted in adding 13 new yarn
colours to the already existing light blue in the
palette. All new colours are set as opaque
because DesignaKnit has no information to the
contrary, while colours that already exist in the
palette will retain their previous transparency
state.
All the colours in the palette have been used in
the pattern, although quite a few of them only in
a stitch or two. The pattern may be amended manually to end up with fewer colours and clearer lines, or
Scaled Paste may be used again to achieve different results.

The options in the "Exclude colour" section can be

ticked to exclude true black and / or white if they exist
in the image. As soon as one or both options are
ticked, additional information is shown to the right of
these boxes, as can be seen here.
Excluding black may be useful if the image has
unwanted black outlines. Any true black (with RGB
values (See page 470) of 0, 0, 0) that DesignaKnit
perceives will be replaced by the RMB colour.
However, if the outline is blurred or thick, dark grey
pixels, closely resembling black, will still be added to
the palette.
Excluding white can be useful if an image has a white background which is not wanted. Any true white (with
RGB values of 255, 255, 255) will be replaced by the RMB colour if the box is ticked. This option can be

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used to 'convert' any surrounding white space of an image to the RMB colour, effectively making it trans-
parent.
The "Combine similar colours from Clipboard" section can be used to reduce the overall number of colours
in the pasted image, ending up with fewer yarn colours in the stitch pattern. The percentage can range from
0 to a maximum of 20. "0%" will produce an image as true to its original as possible, with the maximum
number of colours, whereas "20%" combines as many similar colours as possible into one. If there are still
too many colours left, the palette option of replacing colours can be used to further reduce them (See page
230). If there is a thick black outline in the image and the option to "Exclude Black" has been ticked, setting
20% for the "combine" option will result in removing most of the black, as any dark grey hues will have been
combined into black.
If the "Combine colours within a range" option has initially been set to say, 10%, the resulting colours will be
placed on the palette. The number of colours on the palette may be increased by accessing Edit / Scaled
Paste again and reducing the Combine colours percentage. However, increasing the percentage to reduce
the number of colours will not work unless unused colours have first been deleted, because any colours
that were previously detected are already present on the palette.

To avoid losing and having to re-enter values in the "Paste from Clipboard" dialogue it is a
good idea to prepare the recipient stitch pattern with regards to size, make sure that unused
colours are deleted from the palette and save it. Edit / Scaled Paste can then be accessed
repeatedly to paste the copied clipboard image, changing only the colour settings until the
required result has been achieved.

Two
different
results
are
shown
here to
illustrate
the
effects of
different
settings. The leftmost image was achieved by excluding Black and combining colours within a range of
20%, leaving only dark grey pixels along the outline that was 'black' in the original image. As White was
included the heart is visible against this colour, but had black and white both be excluded, the heart would
have been indistinguishable from its background. Because colours within a 20% range were combined,
only three colours were added and all light blue colours of the image have been merged into the light blue
background colour that was already on the palette. The rightmost image was the result of excluding White,
including Black and combining colours within a range of 0%. This left as much of the 'black' outline of the
heart intact as possible, replacing all white with the RMB colour, while leaving a much clearer stitch pattern
to tidy up and work with, albeit with a lot of colours on the palette.

Palette colours can also be included or excluded by making them opaque or transparent before the
image is accepted on the workspace, provided the daisy without background (which appears below the
Left Toolbar buttons after clicking "OK" on the "Paste form Clipboard" dialogue) has been clicked (See
page 74).

Scaled Paste of a photograph

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The purpose of using

Scaled Paste in this
example is to create
a stitch pattern from
this photograph with
as much detail as
possible.
The photograph was
inserted into Word as
an image and was subsequently copied into the
clipboard by right clicking and choosing "Copy".
The size of the recipient stitch pattern can be
determined by opening a stitch pattern or starting a
new one, then using Edit / Scaled Paste and
setting the "Width" and "Height" in pixels which, for
the purpose of this exercise, is "1". Although it will
not be suitable for most situations, this setting was
used here to demonstrate the effect. At that ratio,
the recipient stitch pattern needs to be 165 stitches
x 148 rows, which is its size in pixels.
The recipient stitch pattern can now be prepared
with regards to size, method of knitting and yarn
colours on the palette.
The quickest way to resize the stitch pattern is the
Modify / Rescale menu option (See on page 164)
which allows the exact measurements to be
entered.
Any existing colours and stitch symbols can be removed by using the Edit / Clear Yarn Colours and Edit /
Clear Stitch Symbols menu options, after which only one colour, which is the light blue background in this
case, is left on the palette.
The method of knitting can be changed to whichever is the most suitable. Although Intarsia allows for most
colours and leads to fewest initial errors, it should be amended before knitting. 2 colour Jacquard was
chosen for this example.
Scaled Paste was accessed again after these preparations and adjusted so that as many colours as
possible would be added to the palette by not excluding white or black and by entering "0" % in the
"Combine colours within a range of" entry box, also making sure that the "Width" and "Height" in pixels are
set to "1". The resulting stitch pattern and palette are shown here.
The initially present light blue carries all the mouse button indicators, and all newly pasted colours are
opaque.

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A different, more workable but far more stylised result, is

achieved by not changing the stitch pattern size and
altering both the width and height in pixels to "3" which will
result in far fewer stitches and rows. Entering "10" % in the
"Combine colours within a range of" entry box results in
fewer yarn colours.
The settings in the "Paste from Clipboard" dialogue may
need to be played with for a while until the result is as
desired, keeping in mind that attempting to decrease the
number of colours on the palette by increasing the
percentage of combining similar colours is only effective if
unused colours are deleted from the palette first.
"Scaled Paste" settings are applied to whatever image is in the clipboard, so if a different image was copied
during the course of experimenting with the settings, the new image will be used and pasted.

After the image is pasted, before fixing it on the workspace by clicking outside the stitch pattern or
pressing the 'Enter' key, the 'Tab' key can be used to flip the image vertically and the 'Ctrl' key to flip it
horizontally.

Motifs
Export Motif 137
Import Single Motif 138
Import Border 140
Import Tile 142

Motifs are smaller stitch patterns that can be used to create, change and enhance larger stitch patterns.
Motifs can be created from scratch or copied out of larger stitch patterns to be used in other stitch patterns.
They can be imported and put together in several ways into existing or new stitch patterns.

Export Motif
The Edit / Export / Motif menu option can be used to save sections of stitch patterns for reuse without
having to design them over and over. A library of motifs and pattern elements can be built by exporting
parts of stitch patterns so they can be imported into other stitch patterns as a single motif, in borders or in a
tiling pattern.
Motifs are exported and saved with their own palette, containing colours and stitch symbols in their
selected transparent or opaque state.

While exporting a motif, it is not important whether DesignaKnit is in Colour or Symbol mode.

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Exporting motifs can be useful if parts of a larger pattern are required for use in a
new pattern. As an example the ski.stp (shown on the left) was used in which several
snowflakes are present that may be used without having to redraw each snowflake
from scratch.

After opening the stitch pattern and zooming in

to get a clear view, a selection box (See page
71) was drawn and its size adjusted. If only the
'flake' part is needed, the background colour can
be made transparent, so it does not overwrite
stitches on importing. The foreground colour
needs to be opaque. Either the Eraser (See
page 95) button on the Left Toolbar or the
Exchange button (see blue circle) on the Yarns
palette (See page 230) could be used to swap
the LMB with the RMB colour.
In this example, light and dark blue were set as opaque and transparent respectively (see red circles) in
preparation for Export and the selection box was placed tight around the snowflake.
After clicking on Edit / Export / Motif the "Save Stitch Pattern File" dialogue appears and a name and
location can be chosen (See on page 437). The original ski.stp stays open on the workspace and the
process may be repeated as many times as needed on different parts of the pattern to end up with a variety
of snowflakes. Different colours might be chosen for the same snowflake and each motif exported to a
different stitch pattern file. After Export is finished the original pattern may or may not be saved on exiting.

The image on the left is an example of a selection box containing a motif with symbols
as well as colours. In this example a 'looped' symbol has been chosen as it is easy to
see.
With the area to be exported enclosed in a selection box, Edit / Export / Motif is
accessed, a name typed and a location chosen in the "Save Stitch Pattern" dialogue,
saving only the contents of the selection box with all opaque and transparent colours
and stitch symbols.

If the option to save motifs is used regularly, it may be a good idea to create a separate
location (See on page 410) for these pattern elements in order to locate them quickly when
needed.

Once saved each element can be opened as a normal stitch pattern, or imported into another stitch pattern
by using one of options of the Edit / Import menu.

Import Single Motif

Edit / Import / Single Motif allows a previously exported motif or other saved stitch pattern to be imported
into an existing one. Some considerations need to be taken into account:
○ The recipient stitch pattern needs to be large enough to hold the imported pattern. If it is not, Desig-
naKnit will present an error message such as "You are trying to import a pattern of 42 rows into a
pattern of 13 rows" pertaining to rows or stitches as appropriate and Import will be abandoned.
○ The background of the recipient pattern needs to have enough contrast in order to see the motif
clearly after Import. A background can be changed very quickly by clicking an appropriate RMB

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colour on the palette, then using the Edit / Clear Yarn colours menu option to change to the new
background.
○ On importing, any colours and symbols that are not already present will be added to the current
palette. Each subsequently added import will add its own colours and symbols to the palette.
○ Initially only opaque colours and symbols will be pasted on import, but transparency can easily be
changed by clicking the transparency indicator of colours and symbols in the palette (See page 227)
before accepting the imported motif on to the workspace.

○ Whether transparent colours of the motif will overwrite the colours of the recipient stitch
pattern depends on which daisy button is clicked (See page 74).These buttons can be clicked to view
the result before the motif is accepted onto the workspace. Opaque colours of the motif will overwrite
the background colour of the recipient stitch pattern regardless of which daisy is clicked.
○ Importing a single motif will place a copy in the top left hand corner of the workspace that is visible on
the screen, or the top left hand corner of a selection box if one has been drawn prior to the import.
○ The motif is accepted onto the workspace by clicking outside of its surrounding dotted line, double
clicking it or using one of the other design tools.

When a motif (stitch pattern) is imported, it is placed in the top left hand corner of
the workspace, surrounded by a faintly dotted outline. The arrow cursor has a
white square at the base, showing that the motif can be picked up, held and
dragged to a different location.
When it is fixed on the workspace by letting go of the mouse and clicking outside
of the motif, another one can be imported. In this way a more complex pattern can
be built with elements that were saved previously.
Any colours and symbols not previously in the palette, but used in the motif will be added automatically.

If more than one repeat of the recipient stitch pattern is visible on the
workspace, the motif can be placed in such a way that it straddles the
repeats, crossing the pattern boundaries. Once the motif is accepted on
to the workspace, it will be shown on all repeats.
In this example the boundary lines between the repeats are shown in
pink. The imported motif was moved between two repeats and on
accepting it into the recipient stitch pattern it is 'divided' so that part of the
import is on the left and part on the right hand side of each pattern
repeat. There will be an incomplete part of the imported motif at the
edges of the fabric when it is knitted.

If more than one instance of the motif is to be used in the

pattern, it can be dragged to its first position, after which the
"Shift" key is pressed to 'stamp' a copy into place. The motif,
which is still surrounded by the faintly dotted outline, can
then be dragged by the mouse or moved by keyboard arrow
keys to the next position, leaving its copy behind, 'stamped'
into the new position with the "Shift" key and so on. Pressing
the "Ctrl" key flips the motif horizontally, while pressing the "Tab" key flips it vertically. This can be done as
many times as needed and as long as the outline of the motif is visible. Clicking outside the motif boundary
or pressing the Enter key finishes the process.
A symmetrical pattern can be built by flipping and stamping the same motif manually, or by using the Mirror
tool. Before importing the motif or with it on the workspace, the mirror button can be set to the desired type

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 Manipulating Stitch Patterns (Complete)

(See on page 112). The motif can be positioned and flipped in whichever way is needed. There will still be
only one instance of the motif on the workspace until the "Shift" key is pressed, at which point as many
copies are made as are defined in the mirror setting. Changes may be undone by clicking the Undo button
on the Left Toolbar, Edit / Undo or "Ctrl-Z" and this will undo each separate 'stamp' action.

The "Shift" key is used to stamp copies, "ctRL" flips Right / Left, "Tab" flips Top And Bottom.

Positioning of the
imported motif - The first
image on the left shows
part of the stitch pattern
into which the motif is to be
imported. In the second
image the motif was
imported without further
specification, which drops
it into the top left hand
corner of the workspace as it is visible on the screen which, in this case, matches the top left hand corner of
the stitch pattern. It would appear in the place that the pink arrow points to. As long as the dotted outline is
visible, the motif can be moved. When the cursor is hovered over it, it changes to include a little white
square (see third image) and the motif can be dragged to a different location by clicking and holding.
If the motif needs to be in a very specific location on the stitch pattern, a selection box can be drawn prior to
importing it. Import will place it in the top left hand corner of the selection box, spilling over if needed. In the
third image a selection box is shown and, as it was too small to contain the complete motif, the motif has
simply spilled over. The large white arrow points to where the motif would end up in the larger stitch pattern.

Import Border
Edit / Import / Horizontal Border and Edit / Import / Vertical Border allow a previously exported or saved
stitch pattern to be imported and used as a border, resulting in as many repeats of the pattern as the recip-
ient stitch pattern can hold. Importing a horizontal border creates a tagged selection box with the same
height as the imported pattern along the bottom of the pattern area and repeats the motif across the entire
width of the box. Importing a vertical border creates a tagged selection box with the same width as the
imported pattern at the left hand side of the pattern area and repeats the motif along the entire height of the
box. Examples of how an imported border can be used can be found in Single Border (See page 210) and
(See page 214).
The following size and position properties apply:
○ The tagged box can be moved by hovering the cursor over its middle handle where it will change to a
cross, then clicking, holding and dragging it to a new position.
○ It can also be moved by using the keyboard arrow keys. The horizontal border can only be moved
vertically and the vertical border horizontally in accordance with these borders taking up the entire
width or height of the stitch pattern.
○ The width of the box can be changed by clicking, holding and dragging its left or right handles
inwards or outwards. The height of the box can be adjusted by dragging the top and bottom handles.
The number of repeats will adjust to fit the selected area.

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○ The pattern can be repositioned within the box by hovering the cursor over any part of the pattern
until it changes to a hand, or by clicking and holding the anchor tag. Either can be used to drag the
pattern horizontally or vertically within the selection box. More precise positioning can be achieved
by using the keyboard arrows instead of the mouse.
○ The Mirror button on the Left Toolbar is unavailable for importing borders and tiles.
○ A border is imported to the stitch pattern as a whole, regardless of whether there is a selection box
on the workspace. After import however, the handles of the border can be manipulated to restrict the
import to a certain area of the stitch pattern.
○ The border is accepted onto the workspace by clicking outside of its surrounding dotted line, double
clicking it or using one of the other design tools.

To demonstrate the process the snowflake motif shown on the left (which is shown
without grid lines) has been created and saved as a separate stitch pattern,
measuring 32 stitches by 30 rows, with a transparent light and opaque mid and darker
blue. A new (recipient) stitch pattern of 90 stitches by 45 rows was also created, with a
light grey transparent background and a band of opaque red across it.

The recipient stitch pattern has

been created large enough to
receive several horizontal
repeats. The opaque colours of
the imported stitch pattern
replace the contents of the recip-
ient stitch pattern and all new
colours are automatically added
to the palette.
The border is initially placed in a
tagged selection box along the
bottom of the recipient stitch pattern, showing only the handles that stand out against the stitch pattern
colours. Although the handles along the bottom and sides of the border are not visible in this example, they
can still be used (See also Differentiate Colours Automatically on page 22). The white centre handle can be
clicked, held and dragged to move the box to a different location. If a Horizontal Border is imported, the
imported motif fills the entire width of the recipient pattern along the bottom. If a Vertical Border is imported
it will fill the height on the left hand side.

If the handles of the selection

box are moved to resize the
motif, as much of the imported
pattern as possible will be
included, dropping or adding
repeats as the box gets smaller
or larger.
The selection box can be moved
by clicking, holding and dragging
the middle handle, which
displays a four arrow symbol
when it is hovered over, or it can
be moved by using the keyboard
arrow keys. The handles on the

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outside edges will display double sided arrows when they are hovered over to show they can be clicked on,
held and dragged.
It is even possible to turn the border into a tiling pattern, as shown here, provided there is enough space in
the recipient stitch pattern to enlarge the selection box sufficiently. This is done by stretching the selection
box to contain more than one band of motifs.
Different manipulation tags become visible as the box is resized and repositioned, enabling the imported
motifs to be stretched further apart or pulled closer together to create surprising and playful effects. All
manipulation tags and their techniques have been described in detail in Manipulation tags (See page 143).

Different motif manipulation

techniques were used to achieve
the result on the left. The
imported pattern was reposi-
tioned in relation to the red
border and the motifs were
moved a lot closer together until
they overlapped, creating the
illusion that individual
snowflakes have moved in
relation to each other. They could just as easily have been moved to create a more widely spaced pattern.
As Importing and positioning Horizontal and Vertical borders works in the same way, no separate views of
the Vertical border were given.

Using the Undo button, Edit / Undo or "Ctrl-Z" will undo the entire Import operation.

Import Tile
Importing a single motif allows it to be positioned precisely, stamped in different places while flipping it
horizontally or vertically and even mirrored to achieve a symmetrical pattern. Importing a horizontal or
vertical border allows a motif to be easily repeated horizontally or vertically along the width or height of a
stitch pattern and tiling allows the greatest range of possibilities.

Edit / Import / Tile allows a previously exported or saved stitch pattern to be imported
and used to create an all over pattern in the recipient stitch pattern. The small motif
shown on the left was created to demonstrate different options and effects.
Grid colours have been adjusted to show as grey (See page 23) in the following
examples in order to provide the best possible clarity in a pattern that might otherwise
have become very 'busy' with manipulation tags.
Bearing in mind that all imported colours are added it is a good idea to delete unused colours from the
palette before starting to import in order to keep the process and palette as clear as possible (See page
236).

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The 'Tile' option fills the entire recipient stitch

pattern (or selection box if one is drawn inside
the pattern) with as many instances of the
imported motif as will fit, starting from the top
left hand side. Different manipulation tags
appear in the centre of each motif. They can all
be clicked on, held and dragged for different
effects (See below).

Additional Tiling tool buttons

(See page 145) appear below
the Left Toolbar as soon as the
Edit / Import / Tile option is
accessed. If the lower tool
buttons are partially hidden, the
DesignaKnit window is not large enough,
which is easily solved by enlarging the window
or making it full screen.
All available tags are visible and workable until the import is fixed in position, after which the ability to influ-
ence the tiling structure as a whole is lost. The import will then behave like any normal stitch pattern which
can be worked on with the various design tools.
The "Tab", "Ctrl" and "Shift" keys can be used to flip the import vertically, horizontally and stamp copies as
needed before fixing it into place by clicking outside of its surrounding dotted line, double clicking it or using
one of the other design tools.
If the import was used to fill an entire stitch pattern, it will be fixed into position by pressing the 'Enter' key,
clicking once outside of the workspace or double clicking in the workspace. If the import was used to only
fill a selection box that was drawn on the workspace prior to importing, it will be fixed into position by
pressing the 'Enter' key or double clicking anywhere on or outside of the workspace.
The Undo button, Edit / Undo or "Ctrl-Z" will undo the entire tile import unless copies have already been
stamped into place by using the "Shift" key in which case each 'stamp' will be undone in turn. In either case
the ability to manipulate the imported tiles will have been lost.

If "Undo" loses the import, the process needs to be started anew as "Redo" cannot reproduce the import
action.

Manipulation tags
The tags shown below can be used to manipulate the imported motifs until the import is as desired.

When the cursor is hovered over the middle handle that appears
when a tagged selection box is visible, the four arrow cursor appears
and can be clicked and held while dragging the box to a different part
of the recipient stitch pattern. For horizontal or vertical borders,
movement by dragging the middle handle is limited to Up / Down or
Left / Right respectively.
The selection box can also be moved by keyboard arrow keys.

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The hand symbol appears when the cursor is moved

over the imported motif outside of any other positioning tags.
It can be used to move the motif within the selection box, so
that its position is changed relative to the selection box. It
works in the same way as the anchor tag that is described
below, although the hand can be used anywhere in the
pattern and the anchor appears only on the main motif tile.
In the two examples shown above, the tagged selection box was first moved upwards for its lower edge to
be a stitch below the red border. The hand cursor was then used to position the darker blue snowflake to
touch the bottom of the red band in the leftmost image. To achieve the result in the rightmost image, the
hand cursor was used to move the lighter blue flake to touch the bottom of the red band.

The 'anchor' tag indicates

the centre of the first instance
of the imported motif, which is
initially placed in the top left
hand corner of the recipient
stitch pattern or selection box.
It can be used to relocate the
motif within the selection box
by clicking, holding and
dragging. Alternatively, it can
be moved more precisely by
clicking on the anchor, then using the keyboard arrow keys to move one stitch column or row at a time. It
works in the same way as the hand symbol described above although it only appears on the main instance
of the motif. In this example, the motif was imported into a selection box, then moved so that the motifs are
closer to the vertical centre.

The arrow tags are shown with a white or blue background. The tags with the blue
background are adjacent to the motif with the anchor tag. The angled directional arrows point left and
down, left and up, right and down or right and up, depending on position relative to the main motif. Only two
variations are shown here.
Using any of the tags with the blue background provides exactly the same horizontal and / or vertical
spacing between all of the tiled repeats in the stitch pattern. Using a tag with a white background enables
exact positioning of the motif tile that is being moved. The blue tags should be used to obtain perfectly
regular tiling. The white tags may be used to fit a complete number of motifs across a stitch pattern
because the tile that is being dragged can be put in a specifically required place, while the other tiles are
automatically arranged as regularly as possible.

In order to demonstrate the difference as

clearly as possible, part of a tiled import is
shown on the left with horizontal double arrow
tags. The same rules apply for vertical and
angled double arrow tags.
The background of the recipient stitch pattern
in these examples was left at a darker blue
than that of the imported motif. The motifs
were then dragged further apart by using a
blue and white tag respectively. This resulted

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in identically spaced gaps in the top image, and a whole number of repeats with the most optimal, although
not quite regular, spacing in the lower image.

Horizontal and vertical double sided arrow tags can be used to move individual repeats of
the originally imported motif in relation to each other in a strictly horizontal or vertical way. Clicking, holding
and dragging the arrows brings the repeats closer together or pulls them further apart. How many
horizontal or vertical double arrows are present depends on the size of stitch pattern and motif. The smaller
the motif is in relation to the recipient stitch pattern, the more repeats and thus the more manipulation tags
will be present. Moving the anchored motif can display different arrow tags.

Double sided
angled arrow tags are
used to move motifs
diagonally in relation
to the anchored motif.
When one of these
tags is clicked on and
held, the cursor
changes to a four
sided arrow which can
be moved in any direc-
tion. While the current
motif is moved one
way, its opposite on
the other side of the anchored motif is moved in the opposite direction. The anchor tile itself remains
stationary.
The example demonstrates what happens when the cursor is clicked on the blue double angled arrow tag
of the motif that is located to the top right of the anchored motif, then held and dragged diagonally towards
this (see larger blue arrow). The motifs on the right side move downwards, while those to the left of the
anchor motif move upwards (see small blue arrows). In the same way, the motifs above the centre move to
the left and those below it move to the right (see small red arrows). The entire pattern appears to make a
circular movement. The best way to understand the movements is to click and hold a double angled arrow
tag and repeatedly press the keyboard arrows one at a time. In this example the down arrow was pressed
twice and the left arrow three times.
A blue tag has been used in this example, which ensured perfectly regular gaps between the repeats. Had
white tags been used, preference could have been given to fitting as many whole motifs in the space as
possible, rather than perfectly regular spacing.

The pattern can be manipulated at length until everything is in place, but clicking the Undo button or
pressing "Ctrl-Z" or "Esc" at any time during this process abandons the Import completely.

Tiling tool buttons

As soon as Edit / Import / Tile is accessed, the additional tool buttons shown
here appear below the Left Toolbar. The four lower buttons are initially
greyed out, becoming active only when the tiles overlap.

A 'hot track' button has been provided to assert control over

whether the screen is redrawn 'live' during mouse actions, or while pressing
keyboard arrow keys with the mouse held. The hot track button is automatically "on" (which is shown as
pressed down) if it takes less than a second to redraw all the tiles. This will generally be the case unless the

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recipient stitch pattern is very large and the imported motif is large or needs numerous repeats. If 'live'
redrawing is switched off, either by clicking the button, or because DesignaKnit has decided that redrawing
the entire screen would take longer than one second, the screen will not redraw until the mouse is
released. The button can be switched on and off by the user.

Any of the three preset buttons

can be used to arrange the
tiled motifs in a preconfigured
way. Clicking the first button
arranges the tiles in the initial
import pattern, which can be
very useful to return to if moving the
pattern by horizontal, vertical or
angled arrow tags has become confused.
The second and third buttons will arrange the tiled motifs in a preset horizontal or vertical brick style
respectively without gaps or overlaps between tiled repeats, as shown in the second and third images.

If manipulating motifs reaches a state of confusion, the top button of the preset options in the
Tiling tool buttons can be clicked on to return to the initial state of import.

As soon as tiled repeats start overlapping each other, the bottom four buttons
become enabled. Overlapping is considered to happen when stitches of
different colours or different stitch symbols lie over each other. Overlaps of the
same colours or stitch symbols leave the overlap buttons greyed out and
unavailable.

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The examples on the left are used

to demonstrate the different effects
of using each overlap button. In
order to illustrate as clearly as
possible, a very large (400 x 400)
recipient stitch pattern was
created, even though this is not
realistic on domestic knitting
machines. Edit / Import / Tile was
then used to import a large motif.
The initial result, superimposed
with the initial state of the overlap
buttons, is shown below.

As the motifs do not overlap at this

stage, the blue background of the recipient stitch pattern shows through. Horizontal, vertical and angled
arrow tags were then used to manipulate the tiling pattern in a pleasing way, after which each overlap
option was clicked in turn to show the different effects. The button with the applied overlap state has been
superimposed on each image to make it easy to compare all options.
In the top left image, the top left of the motif overlaps anything that is beneath it, which in this case obscures
the jug. In the image to the right of it, the top right part of the motif overlaps anything beneath it, resulting in
the jug being visible. In both top images, the belly is covered by the overlap. Part of the head is obscured in
both lower images because the bottom part of the motif is on top, while the jug is obscured only in the left
image.
It is important to select the most suitable overlap button as each button has a different effect on the result
by dictating which part of each motif repeat will be in the foreground. The closer the motifs are moved
together, the more overlap will take place.

The two leftmost states of the overlap buttons shown here will have the same effect as
each other if the tiled motifs only overlap horizontally. I.e., if only the horizontal arrow
tags have been used to overlap. The same applies to the two rightmost states. In the
same way, the two top states have the same effect as each other, as do the two bottom
states, if only the top and bottom edges of the tiled motifs overlap. E.g., by using the
vertical arrow tags.

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Yarn Numbers & Feeders

Changing sequence 150
Moving yarns 150
Editing 152
for Fair Isle 152
for Jacquard 156
for Right & Wrong side facing texture 161
Error messages 161

The View / Yarn Numbers & Feeders menu option is used to be able to view and, if necessary, change
which yarns are threaded through which feeders. Ticking this option will display the feeders and the yarns
allocated to them to the left of the stitch pattern.

The View / Yarn Numbers & Feeders menu option cannot be used in combination with the Passap
E8000 or the Silver Reed with AG50 carriage knitting machine and an error message will appear if this
is attempted. The Silver Reed AG50 is specifically used for Intarsia, for which the Colour Changer
cannot be used.

Passap machines do not use Fair Isle and their Jacquard yarn sequence cannot be controlled by Desig-
naKnit as it is handled by the knitting machine.
is now available when the Passap E6000 or Duomatic punch card knitting machine is selected, and can be
used to control the colour sequence for Jacquard patterns

"Yarn Numbers & Feeders" shows the Colour Changer positions of the yarns if a
Changer is in use, and front and back carriage feeders if it is not, for all methods
except Jacquard, for which the yarn sequence is shown whether a Colour
Changer is in use or not. This difference is reflected in the title bar of the Yarn
Numbers & Feeders dialogue, as shown on the left.

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In addition to using the View menu, the Yarn

Numbers & Feeders can be displayed by pressing
the "F2" or "F3" keys. F2 displays the dialogue (as
shown on the left) in which changes can be made,
while F3 just toggles between displaying or hiding
the feeders in the last known configuration. The title
bar (see blue arrow) reflects whether the method is
Jacquard or not.
The Yarn Numbers & Feeders display is closed on
using design tools, except for the 'Pencil' tool which
can be used to change colours in the pattern by
using the feeder columns (See page 152). Edit /
Cut, Edit / Paste and their corresponding buttons
and keyboard short cuts are disabled while Yarn
Numbers & Feeders are shown on the screen.
The dialogue consists of three sections. The top
section (see blue rectangle) shows the current
knitting machine and whether more than 4 tension
wires are available. The knitting machine and / or its
setup options can be changed by clicking the
"Knitting Machine" button which opens the "Knitting
Machine Selection" dialogue (See page 345). If the
knitting machine is changed in the main Stitch
Designer Options / Method of Knitting menu while
Yarn Numbers & Feeders are displayed, the
feeders view will be closed.
The stitch pattern section (see red rectangle) shows information about the method and the status of the
Colour Changer, both of which are properties of the current stitch pattern which can be changed here.
Changing the method will affect the arrangement of the yarns on the feeders in most cases which can be
seen after clicking "OK". If an inappropriate knitting method was selected an error message will be
displayed, such as "Knitting method F is inappropriate: there are more than 2 colours per row" and the
feeders will be hidden on clicking "OK". The method will be changed and the Yarn Numbers & Feeders can
no longer be accessed until the method has been rectified by using Options / Method of Knitting.
Changing the Colour Changer status for Jacquard methods will leave the feeder display unaltered because
Jacquard yarn sequence numbers, not Colour Changer positions are shown in Stitch Designer. The result
for Fair Isle will be changed by switching the Changer off and on as only 2 feeders will be available without
the Colour Changer. The Colour Changer will be switched to 'on' automatically if Yarn Numbers & Feeders
are displayed for Right / Wrong side facing texture methods.
The 'Keep' option in the third section (see orange rectangle) will only be available if the Colour sequence
for the current stitch pattern has previously been changed in the Yarn Numbers & Feeders display in the
main Stitch Designer workspace (See on the facing page) while all other options remain unchanged. It will
stay available even when the pattern is saved, exited and reopened unless ‘Recalculate’ is ticked in which
case the previously edited sequence is lost and 'Keep' is no longer available.
Clicking 'Keep' leaves the 'Recalculate' option available. Clicking 'Recalculate' will grey out the 'Keep'
option.
'Keep' will keep the edited arrangement regardless of possible errors and 'Recalculate' will either apply
Memo numbers or a DesignaKnit default construction. If an edited arrangement does not have any empty
columns, selecting the Auto option in Palettes / Memo assigns Memo numbers in line with the assignments

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that the user has already made. If 'Recalculate' is subsequently clicked, the Memo number arrangement
will be applied and the 'Keep' option will be greyed out as the edited sequence has now been abandoned.
As 'Recalculate' does not result in an "Undo" possibility, it can only be undone by reopening the stitch
pattern without saving the changes. Changes that will result in automatic recalculation of a yarn sequence
by DesignaKnit are:
○ selecting a different knitting machine brand (e.g., Brother instead of Silver Reed).
○ selecting a different knitting method (e.g., Fair Isle instead of Jacquard).
○ changing the Colour Changer status.
○ editing the stitch pattern by using Design Tools if the changes result in introducing a new yarn colour
to a row where it was previously absent, if all stitches of a given yarn colour have been removed from
any row or if the total number of rows in the stitch pattern has changed. In other cases, the stored
Yarn Numbers & Feeders assignments are still valid.
○ ticking the 'Recalculate' option in the Yarn Numbers & Feeders dialogue.

The first three options of this list can be undone or changed back without losing stored Yarn Numbers &
Feeders assignments unless the dialogue has been opened after selecting the 'Recalculate' option.

Changing sequence
The yarn sequence (for Jacquard) and feeder positions (for other methods) can be changed in several
ways:
○ Dragging columns and / or blocks in the Yarn Numbers & Feeders display. This method overrides
existing Memo and (for Right / Wrong side facing texture methods) Transparency settings and will
make the 'Keep' option available. 'Keep' will apply the user arrangement regardless of any errors and
'Recalculate' will override it with the DesignaKnit construction, taking Memo numbers into account if
they are allocated and valid. If errors are found, an error message will be displayed and in some
cases, the Yarn Numbers & Feeders display can no longer be opened until the error is corrected
(See also Error messages on page 161).
○ Suppressing Jacquard yarns. This will affect the sequence as yarns will not be knitted into the
pattern where they are suppressed. The ‘Keep’ option will be available on (re)accessing the Yarn
Numbers & Feeders display.
○ Letting DesignaKnit make the assignments. This is what happens automatically if no or invalid Memo
numbers are allocated and if columns and / or blocks have not been moved in the Yarn Numbers &
Feeders display.
○ Assigning Memo numbers manually (See on page 238). If the manually assigned Memo numbers
result in one or more empty columns they will be ignored in favour of the DesignaKnit arrangement. If
'Keep' is not available after assigning different Memo numbers, this can be either because the
changes have been accepted, or because they are rejected in favour of default DesignaKnit alloc-
ations.
○ Auto assigning Memo numbers (See page 238). This action will match the Memo numbers to the
existing allocations in the Yarn Numbers & Feeders display.

Moving yarns
The yarn sequence (for Jacquard) and feeder positions (for other methods) can be changed while the Yarn
Numbers & Feeders are displayed next to the stitch pattern.

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Although the Feeder display is slightly different for

different methods, the columns can be swapped over to a
different position in all cases by positioning the cursor
over one of the column labels until it changes to an arrow
with a little square. When this arrow is clicked and held it
can be dragged to a different position, as shown on the
left where the "J2" column was clicked, held and dragged
to the "J3" position. Start, 'in transit' and end result are all
shown. If the pattern is not Jacquard, the column indications will be preceded by the feeder indicators,
whether these are Colour Changer or carriage feeders.

In addition to moving entire feeder columns,

individual colour blocks in each column can be
moved by clicking, holding and dragging them to
different feeders.
This is demonstrated in the example on the left.
Hovering the cursor over a yarn block changes the
cursor to a double sided arrow (first image). After it is
clicked and held it can be dragged (second image)
into a different position where the mouse button is
released (third image). Care needs to be taken in
order not to have empty feeders, as this will result in an error message which will be presented on
checking, saving, printing, using Interactive Knitting and re-accessing Yarn Numbers & Feeders.

If blocks are moved in this way the 'Keep' option becomes available on
accessing View / Yarn Numbers & Feeders or by using "F2", as shown on
the left. If the result of dragging blocks is not as required, such as ending up
with empty feeders, 'Recalculate' should be clicked to re-allocate Changer
positions according to the DesignaKnit default or the Memo numbers if they have been used and correctly
allocated.
Fair Isle and Right / Wrong side facing texture methods - individual yarn blocks may be moved freely
between feeders. If this results in empty feeders, an error message will appear every time the pattern is
checked, saved, printed or knitted in Interactive Knitting unless the situation is corrected. However, the
pattern can be saved, printed and knitted in Interactive Knitting despite the error. If the yarns are (re)dis-
tributed manually, Palettes / Memo may be accessed to assign Memo numbers to the new positions by
clicking 'Auto'. 'Keep' will stay available on (re)accessing the Yarn Numbers & Feeders display until one of
these options has been clicked and accepted.
Jacquard - moving blocks is only possible for Jacquard patterns if there are more colours in the pattern in
total than there are number of colours per row. For example, when using the 4 colour Jacquard method for
a pattern that contains 7 colours in total, yarns will need to be changed at some point as they share
feeders. The individual blocks can then be moved between columns. It is always the Jacquard yarn
sequence rather than Colour Changer positions that are shown in the Yarn Numbers & Feeders display.

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Editing

The Pencil (See page

94) tool can be used to
change one colour in an
entire line in the stitch
pattern while the Yarn
Numbers & Feeders are
displayed. To do this,
the Pencil needs to be
'loaded' with the correct
colour, then clicked at
the correct position in
one of the feeder
columns after which the
specified colour is
changed in the line that
was clicked.
The different elements
that are involved have been gathered and are displayed in the example shown here. The Pointer position
tool at the left hand side shows that the cursor is on row 7 and the detail of the palette on the right hand side
shows that the LMB is 'loaded' with red. After the Pencil tool is clicked it is hovered over the correct row
position, on the column of the colour that needs to be changed. Clicking the LMB will replace the original
colour by the LMB colour (red) for all instances of that colour on row 7. RMB or LMB can be used as long as
the desired colour is loaded. If there are no errors, the Pencil tool is deactivated and the screen shows the
new colour while the Yarn Numbers & Feeders are still displayed. If there is an error that cannot be recon-
ciled with the pattern, for example, two deselecting colours in a Fair Isle row, this will be shown after which
the Yarn Numbers & Feeders display will be closed. If there are informational messages, e.g., pertaining to
difficult colour changes, clicking "OK" will redisplay the pattern with Yarn Numbers & Feeders. In this
example, the action was repeated on the blue column to also replace blue by red on row 7.
The "Replace" (See page 230), "Combine" (See page 228), "Exchange" (See page 230) and "Convert
Colours" (See page 231) buttons on the Palette toolbar, as well as their equivalent options in the Palettes
menu can be used to edit the stitch pattern. After using them the Yarn Numbers & Feeders display is
automatically closed, and a different arrangement may be displayed on reopening them, in line with the
changes.

for Fair Isle

However many colours a Fair Isle pattern contains, only one or two of them can be knitted in each row. If
two yarns are knitted, both carriage feeders are used. The front feeder is the main carriage feeder and the
rear feeder may be used on its own or a Colour Changer may be attached.
○ The Colour Changer automates the process of swapping yarns in such a way that main colour(s) will
be on selecting needles and will be threaded in the front carriage feeder (FB or F2), while contrast
colours will be on deselecting needles and fed through the rear feeder to which the Colour Changer
is attached.
○ If the Colour Changer is not in use, the front carriage feeder (FB or F2) will be used for the contrast
colours which are on selecting needles, while the rear carriage feeder is used for the main colours on
deselecting needles.
The yarn in the rear feeder always appears on deselecting needles, and the yarn in the front feeder always
appears on selecting needles, whether a Colour Changer is used or not (See also Colour Changer on

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page 490). Main and contrast colours are recognised automatically by DesignaKnit. The 'main yarn' is the
yarn that is least likely to change throughout the work, such as a background colour that is used in every
row throughout the pattern.
The needle selection status of yarns can be changed by clicking the needle indicators in the individual
yarns on the Palette (See page 226) or by using "Ctrl-E" which will swap the needle selection state around
for all yarns in the pattern.
Under certain circumstances, the needle selection may be swapped by DesignaKnit when the Colour
Changer is switched on or off, but this will only happen if there is a single obvious main colour, which has
the wrong needle selection assignment for the current Colour Changer status.
When a Fair Isle pattern is downloaded to a Brother machine or to the Silver Reed PE1, it is downloaded in
the same way as if a Colour Changer is not in use, which means that the Negative button should be used
on the knitting machine. When a punch card or reader template is printed for a Fair Isle pattern, there is an
option to invert the printout so that it agrees with the Colour Changer setting.
Memo numbers may be used to influence which yarn is used from which feeder (See page 239) but as it
can become complicated to work out which yarns are on selecting and deselecting needles it is often best
to either use the "Auto" option (See page 238) to assign Memo numbers, or not use them for Fair Isle.

Fair Isle with Colour Changer

When Fair Isle is used with a Colour Changer, it is possible to use up to six feeders, depending on the
physical setup. If a yarn mast can hold six yarns, four of these will be fed into the Colour Changer feeders.
One of the other two is fed directly into the carriage feeder while the last yarn hangs loose, awaiting its turn.

The option to select more than four Tension wires can be ticked
in machine setup which is accessed through Options / Method
of Knitting, or by clicking on the "Knitting Machine" button in the
"Yarn Numbers & Feeders" dialogue.
The option to select a Colour Changer can be accessed either
through Options / Method of Knitting or in the Yarn Numbers &
Feeders dialogue. It can easily be activated or deactivated by
clicking its button (See also Colour Changer on page 490).

When the Colour Changer is set to 'on' this is reflected in

the file information at the top of the DesignaKnit window
as the program adds "CC" after the knitting method (see
red circle).

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The image on the left is of a simple Fair Isle

pattern. After activating View / Yarn Numbers &
Feeders, "Knitting Machine" was clicked, a
Brother machine selected and the options to use
a Colour Changer and more than 4 available
tension wires were ticked after accessing
"Setup".
The cursor was hovered over the (front) carriage
feeder "FB" which holds the 'main' yarns, as can
be seen by the comment in the status bar under-
neath the pattern, while the contrast yarns are
distributed over the Changer feeders. In this
example they are in accordance with the alloc-
ation of Memo numbers (See on page 238). The
carriage feeder uses the yarns on selecting
needles (see blue arrows), while the contrast
yarns are fed through the Colour Changer on
deselecting needles (see red circles).
If this were a Silver Reed knitting machine the
Front feeder would be "F2" and the Colour
Changer feeders "CCA" through to "CCC".
The Colour Changer is attached to the Rear feeder into which the yarns are fed. As the Colour Changer is
generally not so easy to rethread, it is recommended to use single colours on each of these feeders and
keep the Front feeder for the main colours that are used in the pattern.
If more than four tension wires are available, four contrast colours can be threaded into the Colour Changer
and the fifth tension wire can be used for the Front feeder yarn.

If the pattern contains more colours than can be threaded through the Colour Changer it is worth consid-
ering whether to use it at all, as changing yarns in the Colour Changer can be more difficult than
threading through the standard Front and Rear feeders of the knitting machine.

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The needle selection status of all the

colours in the palette can be swapped
simultaneously by pressing "Ctrl-E".
If "Ctrl-E" is pressed when the stitch
pattern on the workspace is shown with
the Yarn Numbers & Feeders, the
feeder information will disappear and
can be brought back into view by
accessing View / Yarn Numbers &
Feeders or pressing the "F2" or "F3"
keys.
"Ctrl-E" has been used in this example
to swap over selecting and deselecting
needles. This resulted in the green, red,
mauve and blue contrast yarns which
were on the Colour Changer feeders in
the leftmost scenario to be changed
over to main yarns on the Front feeder
(FB), while the main light background
colours are now contrast colours and
distributed over the Colour Changer
feeders.
The selection status of the needles can easily be seen in the palette. The front carriage feeder is threaded
with the 'main' yarn in both scenarios. Swapping the needle selections has changed over what is deemed
'main' and 'contrast' colours. As there are only two contrast colours after using "Ctrl-E", only two Colour
Changer feeders will be used in addition to the carriage feeder.

The "Yarn Numbers & Feeders" dialogue can be skipped by pressing the "F3" key.

Fair Isle without Colour Changer

If the Colour Changer (CC) is not is use, this can

be seen at the top of the program window by the
absence of "CC" (see red circle).

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 Manipulating Stitch Patterns (Complete)

Fair Isle can knit two colours, main and contrast

yarn, simultaneously. If the Colour Changer is
not in use, the Feeder columns represent the
two carriage feeders, as shown on the left. The
rear feeder (F1) holds the main yarn
(deselecting needles) and the front feeder holds
the contrast yarn (selecting needles).

In the image on the left this can be seen

clearly. The cursor (on the bottom left) is
hovered over the front feeder "F2" with the grey
and light blue contrast yarns, which are on
selecting needles (see blue arrows). Rear
feeder "F1" holds what DesignaKnit sees as
main yarns (green, red, mauve and blue) which
are held on deselecting needles (see red
circles).
Silver Reed knitting machines show the Rear
(main yarn, deselecting needles) feeder as "F1"
and the Front (contrast yarn, selecting needles)
feeder as "F2", as shown in the example on the
left. Brother and Toyota knitting machines display the Rear Feeder as "FA" and the Front Feeder as "FB".
The feeder indications at the bottom of the columns would have read "FB" and "FA" instead of "F2" and
"F1".

If the needle selection was swapped over there would be

four contrast yarns (red, green, blue and mauve) on
selecting needles as shown in the second image on the left.
The yarns have all swapped feeder.
In this example it would mean that the yarns would need to
be changed in the front feeder more often than in the rear
feeder. Swapping needle selection could be considered if
changing is easier in one feeder over the other.

for Jacquard
Jacquard refers to patterns in which some or all rows have two or more colours. Only the needles of the
colour to be knitted at each particular row will be selecting and the carriage, or lock, will be set to slip past
the deselecting needles. Each yarn is worked in turn from the rear carriage feeder. Jacquard knitting
benefits from using a Colour Changer as the yarns will be ready and waiting for a button to be pushed,
rather than needing to be rethreaded for each row.

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The image on the left shows an example of a 6 colour

Jacquard stitch pattern for which Yarn Numbers &
Feeders have been displayed. As there are 7 colours
in total in this pattern two colours (green and orange)
share sequence number "J5". There will be a warning
at the Interactive Knitting stage when this colour
needs to be changed to.
If there are incompatibilities between stitch pattern
and method of knitting, warning messages will be
presented on accessing the Yarn Numbers &
Feeders dialogue.
Jacquard may be knitted on a single bed but it is more
usual to use the main bed and Ribber to create a
fabric without floats. If a Ribber is used, the needles
that knit and those that do not must be selected
manually or, where available, the manufacturer's settings can be used, as it cannot be programmed by
DesignaKnit.
Unless unused yarns are suppressed (See page 159), the Jacquard method works all the yarns across all
the rows, showing only the appropriate colours of the pattern at the front of the finished fabric.

Whether the Colour Changer is on or off, the columns at the left of the stitch pattern represent the
sequence in which the yarns are to be used. They do NOT represent the Yarn feeders or the Colour
Changer.

The main purpose of previewing the yarn numbers for Jacquard knitting is to ensure that the order in which
the yarns are knitted will not result in pattern errors. With the Colour Changer set to 'on', the yarn positions
for Interactive Knitting will be arranged as closely related to the knitting sequence as possible in order to
keep rethreading to a minimum.

The actual sequence of knitting is determ-

ined by the separation method.

The Jacquard colour separation method can be

accessed in Options / Method of Knitting, from
where "Setup" and then "Jacquard" can be
clicked. Alternatively, "Knitting Machine",
"Setup" and "Jacquard" can be clicked from the
"Yarn Numbers & Feeders" dialogue to arrive at
the same place.
The Jacquard separation methods are
described in detail in Jacquard (See page 352).
Methods A and B are generally used for
Japanese machines. Method B is most
commonly used.
The Brother KH970 knitting machine incorporates a facility to separate 3- and 4-colour Jacquard patterns
within the console. Because of this possibility DesignaKnit includes an option to download without first
separating the colours so that the knitting machine will perform this function instead (See page 478). If a
pattern is downloaded to this machine with the Colour Changer configured to 'on', it is necessary for every

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 Manipulating Stitch Patterns (Complete)

colour in the pattern to have been assigned a Memo number (See on page 238) in order to drive the
automatic Colour Changer. Memo information can be viewed by accessing the View / Memo menu option.
DesignaKnit will work out the needle selection for each colour and the sequence in which the colours will be
knitted when a pattern is downloaded to the knitting machine or when a template for a Mylar sheet or punch
card is printed. For this to work correctly, the pattern should consist of an even number of rows.

If the pattern depends on an odd number of rows and it is not possible to add or remove one,
it can be fixed by redefining (See on page 84) the pattern to include two vertical repeats, so
doubling the number of rows.

Unless 2 colour Jacquard is used

with separation method B, it is
recommended to switch on the
"Jacquard" continuous checking
option in the Check dialogue (See
page 59) and ensure that the
Check marks are clearly distin-
guishable (See on page 21)
before making changes in the way
that yarns are distributed over the
feeders, as this can easily lead to
Jacquard errors.
Continuous checking makes sure
that errors are immediately obvious. In the example on the left, the leftmost image depicts the starting
situation in which the pattern was checked to see that there were no Jacquard errors. The orange block
was then moved by clicking, holding and dragging it over the yellow block of yarn. As well as marking the
errors, the status bar will briefly show how many errors, if any, have resulted from the move.

Whether the Colour Changer is used or not

will have no effect on the display of the Yarn
Numbers & Feeders in Stitch Designer.
However, the Interactive Knitting Yarns
window will show Colour Changer positions if
a Changer is in use or Yarn sequence
numbers if it is not. The leftmost picture is the
Stitch Designer screen. The top rightmost
shows Interactive Knitting with Colour
Changer and the bottom one without at the
same position in the knitting.

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The method chosen needs

to match or exceed the
maximum number of colours
(up to six) in a row, regard-
less of how many colours are
used in total in the pattern. If
the method exceeds the
number of yarns in a row and
there are sufficient yarns in
total, an extra yarn is knitted
in at each row, resulting in a
thicker fabric.
The pattern that was used to
demonstrate contains 6
colours in total and 4 colours
per row, making it a 4 colour
Jacquard pattern.
The leftmost scenario shows the configuration in Stitch Designer with the 4 colour Jacquard Yarn Numbers
& Feeders sequence at the top while the Interactive Knitting Yarns window is shown below that, with the
(auto assigned) Memo numbers at the bottom.
The rightmost scenario shows the same pattern as a 5 instead of 4 colour Jacquard. As there are now 5
instead of 4 yarns in each row, the yarn sequence numbers have been reassigned and each finished fabric
row will be made up of 5 instead of 4 yarns.
If Memo numbers have been assigned correctly (See page 495) they will match the Colour Changer-
positions that are shown in Interactive Knitting, as is the case for both examples that are shown above. In
the leftmost scenario, Pink was assigned Memo 1, which corresponds with the first Colour Changer
position of the Silver Reed knitting machine that was used for these examples: CCA. Light blue was
assigned Memo 2 which corresponds with the second Changer position CCB. In the rightmost scenario
Light blue was assigned Memo 1, corresponding with the first Changer position CCA, Olive has Memo 2
which corresponds with the second Changer position CCB etc.

Auto assigning Memo numbers is most likely to lead to a predictable and desired result (See page 238).

The Yarn Numbers & Feeders display shows all colours in

the pattern with their Jacquard sequence number. A solid
block means that this colour is in the foreground of the
pattern. The thin coloured lines represent the yarns that
are knitted into the back of the fabric. Colours that are not
in the foreground can be suppressed so they are not
worked into the fabric.
The advantage of including unused colours in the knitting
is that the fabric has a uniform thickness and tension. The
advantages of suppressing them are that the fabric is not
thicker than it needs to be and will take a shorter time and
less yarn to knit.
When the cursor is hovered over the thin line of a column,
a cross is added to the arrow (see leftmost image). When this line is clicked it will be removed and this yarn
will be suppressed until it is to be knitted into the foreground of the pattern (solid block). When the cursor is

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hovered over the empty space two small parallel lines are added to the arrow (see rightmost image) to
indicate that the line can be reinstated by clicking in the space. Yarns can be suppressed or used in this
way to control how many are used in each row, affecting the overall thickness of the fabric.

The images on the left illustrate how

suppressing yarns affects knitting. The
Stitch Designer Yarn Numbers & Feeders
display has been shown as well as a detail
of the Interactive Knitting Piece Overview
and Countdown + Shaping Instructions
window for two scenarios.
The leftmost set of images shows the
situation where none of the yarns are
suppressed. On RC 12, only 3 rows of
finished fabric have been completed
because all of the 'unused' colours are
knitted into the back of the fabric.
The rightmost set of images shows the same pattern where all yarns that would have been worked in at the
back of the fabric have been suppressed, as indicated by the absence of thin coloured lines. On RC 12, 6
rows of finished fabric have been completed because the unused yarns are not worked into the fabric.
When comparing the Piece Overview windows, the knitting has advanced further where the yarns have
been suppressed. Suppressing the yarns is more likely to result in a fabric that is uneven in thickness as
the number of yarns in one row of finished fabric will vary. This can be seen clearly in this example, where
the first rows would only contain two colours (light blue and green) while higher up in the pattern a different
finished row would contain 6 colours (light blue, green, brown, yellow, orange and pink).

If the colours are not suppressed and the colours in a

feeder are changed, the point at which the change
happens may need to be specified in order to control the
appearance of the back of the fabric. By default, the first
colour will be continued until the second colour is used in
the pattern.
In the images on the left there are two different colours on
feeder 5. By default, the dark green colour continues until
the orange is needed (as in the first image). However, if
the change of colour needs to happen at a different point,
the cursor can be hovered over the thin line and right
clicked to change at the precise point that is clicked (see
red circles).

When the pattern is downloaded to the machine, DesignaKnit will take any suppressions
into account when separating the colours and will remove the carriage passes required for
that colour at that point in the pattern.

This means that when knitting, extra care must be taken to follow the Interactive Knitting instructions or, if
not connected to the computer at the time of knitting, to follow the Memo information on the knitting
machine.

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for Right & Wrong side facing texture

As a Colour Changer is required for Right /

Wrong side facing texture methods the
message shown on the right will appear to
inform that it has been turned to 'on'. This
will happen if its state was "off" to start with
or if it is switched to "off" in the Yarn Numbers & Feeders dialogue. When the Colour Changer has been
activated, the yarn is fed through the rear carriage feeder from each Changer position.

The Colour Changer positions can be assigned through Memo

numbers, keeping the general rules in mind (See page 495).
The allocation of yarns to feeders for Right / Wrong side facing
texture methods is not only controlled by Memo numbers but
also depends on whether yarns are opaque or transparent.
Opaque yarns are allocated a feeder while transparent yarns
are only allocated a feeder if there are no opaque colours in
that particular row (See on page 363).
Assigning transparency where the allocations have not been
changed by dragging columns and / or blocks will influence the
allocation of Memo numbers when the 'Auto' option is used.
In this example, the 'Auto' option was used to allocate Memo
numbers. Blue has not been given a number as it has been set
as a transparent yarn that is not knitted because the opaque
pink yarn is in the same rows and will be used instead. All four
Changer positions of the selected Brother knitting machine are
filled with the assigned colours.

Error messages
Changing the Yarn Numbers & Feeders can lead to errors, or fix them. DesignaKnit provides the option to
either check for errors manually or to switch on continuous error checking (See on page 59). Errors can be
discovered and presented on using the Check option, on saving, printing, (re)accessing Yarn Numbers &
Feeders and at the Interactive Knitting stage.
Automatic checks will take place on saving patterns and if an error is encountered the option to "Save
anyway" is given. It could be saved as it is, but the Yarn Numbers & Feeders will not be accessible until the
error has been corrected. The pattern cannot be downloaded to a knitting machine and will not knit at the
Interactive Knitting stage until errors are fixed.

If the yarn sequence has been edited in any

way, it is a good idea to check the pattern to
make sure that the amendments are valid
and if they are not, a message similar to the
one shown on the right could be presented.

The message shown on the right will be shown for

Fair Isle and Right / Wrong side facing texture
methods if one of the feeders is empty. This can
happen for Fair Isle patterns if unusual needle

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selections have been made, e.g., by clicking on the needle selection indicator in the palette (See page 226)
or by using "Ctrl-E" to swap all needle selections. These actions can easily lead to errors in the yarn feeder
allocations and to a distribution of yarns that would leave one or more feeders empty. The situation has to
be corrected manually, or a previous instance of the stitch pattern without errors could be opened without
saving the current, wrong one. A mismatch of transparent and opaque yarns, while another feeder requires
yarn changes can cause a feeder to be empty for Right / Wrong side facing texture methods. The
DesignaKnit default allocation of yarns to feeders will be applied instead. All feeders need to be used other-
wise an error message will ensue.

Jacquard stitch pattern errors that can be fixed

by changing the sequence of colours will be
fixed automatically by switching on the Yarn
Numbers & Feeders. However, this does not fix
other Jacquard errors that are due to the design
of the pattern. If the Yarn sequence is changed
by, for example, dragging a yarn to a different
feeder column, Jacquard errors might easily arise. Before changing the sequence it is a good idea to switch
on the "Jacquard" option in the Check dialogue (See on page 59) in order to switch on continuous
checking, so that any errors immediately become obvious. A number of errors can be corrected automat-
ically when using Check and may present a box such as the first one above, followed by a message such
as the second one to perform automatic corrections.

If Right / Wrong side facing texture

methods are used to knit bands of colour
without any texture stitches, an informational
message will appear to the effect that the
pattern only contains yarn colours and can
therefore not produce needle selection, such
as shown on the right. On clicking "OK" the feeder columns would appear as in the image and would only
represent the feeders of the Colour Changer.

An informational message will appear if there are difficult colour

changes in Fair Isle patterns, such as when the main yarn for row
1 is different from the main yarn for the topmost row and may
require rethreading of the carriage feeder rather than just switching
to a different Colour Changer yarn. The message is given for the
row containing the next change in main yarn.

A message like the one shown on the right may appear if

there is a difficult rethreading in one of the Colour Changer
feeders. A Silver Reed was used for this example, there-
fore the feeder is indicated by a letter.

If a Colour Changer is at the wrong side of

the knitting for the yarn to be changed, a
message like the one shown on the right will
be given for the first instance in which this
occurs. For Japanese knitting machine
which has the Changer attached to the left of the knitting machine, yarn changes that take place on the
right hand side (on even rows) are difficult.

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If deliberate changes are made in the feeder allocations, it is a good idea to save the stitch pattern with a
file name that provides a reminder about the intended knitting machine and whether a Colour Changer is to
be used.
Using a combination of manually changing the colours between the available feeders and using the Check
menu option should lead to the most efficient way of knitting and fewest colour changes between feeders.

Turn
Modify / Turn allows the stitch pattern to be rotated by any number of degrees that are required.

When Modify / Turn is clicked the dialogue

shown on the left will be presented, into which
any number between -360 and 360 may be
entered, causing the pattern, or part of the
pattern to rotate by this number of degrees.
If only a part of the pattern is required to turn,
this can be achieved by drawing a selection
box around the intended part, making sure
there is enough space within the selection box
for the turning to take place.
If the number of degrees is a positive number the pattern will rotate clockwise, if it is negative anti-clock-
wise.
Some examples of 'Turn' actions are shown below, using an oblong pattern with a clearly defined image.
The RMB colour of the palette is yellow to demonstrate the various effects more clearly.
If the size or shape of the original image is not the same as the rotated image, the parts that were not
present in the original will be filled by the RMB colour. If the pattern is turned by a number of degrees other
than 90°, 180° or 270° it will be at an angle and the 'corners' will be filled by the RMB colour.

The first image is the starting point, after which the entire pattern was turned 180° in the second image.
Modify / Turn and Modify / Flip give different results (See on the facing page). The entire pattern fits within
the same confines, as the horizontal and vertical size do not change.
In the third image the pattern was turned anti-clockwise by -27° resulting in a pleasing angle. However, the
pattern now shows edges of yellow. This is because Stitch Designer fills up the parts that did not exist
before turning with the RMB colour. Had this been white, like the background of the pattern, these yellow
areas would not have appeared. They can be fixed in a number of ways: Undoing this action, selecting
white as the RMB colour in the palette and then applying the 'Turn' again would be the quickest and
easiest. However, various Drawing Tools (See page 92) can also be used.

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If a pattern is rotated 90° or 270° the width and height are swapped. If the pattern is square this is fine as
width and height of the original and turned image are equal. However, if the pattern is rectangular, some of
it will be lost, while the other measure will be added to. In the fourth image the pattern was turned through
90°. As width and height are different some parts (stitch columns) of the tulips are cut off, while rows are
added to the height of the pattern. To avoid this, the pattern needs to be large enough to contain the entire
pattern. This can be achieved by adding (in this case) enough stitch columns (See on page 87) prior to
turning the pattern. The RMB colour has been left yellow for demonstration purposes.
To obtain a turned pattern where each stitch becomes a row and vice versa the tension needs to be set in
such a way that the grid is square; the number of stitches must be equal to the number of rows. This can be
done through Options / Tensions on the menu (See on page 420). Doing this will help prevent distortion
during the Turn process. Tensions can be (and indeed should be) reset after the pattern is turned.
In the last image a selection box was used to enclose a part of the pattern only. With the selection box
showing, Modify / Turn was used to turn the single tulip by 20°. This placed the selection box to the left of
the stem of the tulip! To join stem and flower, the RMB colour was changed to white after which the selec-
tion box was moved to the correct position by dragging.

Flip
Modify / Flip flips the pattern, or part
of a pattern vertically or horizontally.
Flipping is different from the Modify /
Turn option, as can be seen in the
images on the left.
Looking at the larger green leaf it
ends up at the right of the pattern
when it is turned, but on the left
when it is flipped.
If a selection box is drawn Modify /
Flip will flip its contents only.

Rescale
Modify / Rescale has a double function. It can be used to resize a stitch pattern and it can be used to
prepare a pattern chart for double bed knitting or using a Ribber, by adding blank rows or stitch columns.

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When the menu option is ticked the dialogue as shown on

the left is presented. The current number of stitches and
rows is shown.
Both "Stitches" and "Rows" can be altered, either by
typing in the exact numbers that are wanted (Value), or
by typing in a factor that the number is to be multiplied by
(Scale). These values can be set independent of each
other, so that a pattern may be resized at will.
If "Maintain aspect ratio" is ticked, typing in a value in
stitches will automatically change the value in rows
proportionally, while the Scale value is recalculated.
Typing a Scale in stitches automatically adjusts the
number of stitches to be the multiplication of stitches and
scaling factor.
The "Insert blank rows" option is greyed out unless an
integer value higher than "1" appears in the Rows Scale
field (see red circle), either by typing it there, or typing an
integer value higher than "1" in the Stitches field when "Maintain aspect ratio" is ticked.
Rescale can be used to quickly size a stitch pattern to exact requirements, then save it under a different
name.

An existing pattern with the correct palette (colour settings and symbols) may be opened, its
colours and stitch symbols cleared through the Edit menu, after which Modify / Rescale can
be used to define the rows and stitch columns exactly.

Some examples have been given here to illustrate various scenarios. In each case the 'before' and 'after'
images are given, separated by the settings of the "Rescale Stitch Pattern" dialogue.

The Snowflake pattern

was used as this is a
small pattern to work
with. Only the number
of stitches has been
changed, resulting in
the automatic modific-
ation of the Scale field.
The stitch pattern now
has 20 stitch columns
instead of the initial 13
and has stretched out
in a way that most
closely resembles the
initial look. Some stitch
columns have
remained the same,
others (like the purple
middle column) have doubled in width.

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The option to increase or decrease Stitches or Rows independently of each other is very useful if the
pattern depends on being an even or an odd number of rows or stitch columns.

In this example the "Maintain

aspect ratio" box was ticked,
and "3" was typed into the
Scale field, resulting in trebling
the number of stitch columns
as well as rows. The pattern
has become larger, while
keeping its exact overall
appearance. Care was taken
that the "Insert blank rows"
box was unticked.
The original stitch pattern is
shown at the top and the result
of the rescaling action below it
in all the examples shown.
If the pattern needed to be
50% larger, a value of "1.5"
might be added in the Scale
field of either Stitches or Rows, as long as the "Maintain aspect ratio" box was ticked.

In this example ".5" was

typed into the Stitches
Scale field while
"Maintain aspect ratio"
was ticked, resulting in
an automatic adjust-
ment of number of
stitches and both values
the Rows.
The resulting pattern
looks more stylised as
the same pattern tries to
fit into fewer stitches, as
can be seen in the detail
of the stitch pattern that
is shown on the left. The
yellow accents have
disappeared altogether,
and the presence of purple is strongly reduced.

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In this example, the "Insert

blank rows" box was ticked
while the Rows Scale field was
filled in as "2". This resulted in a
twofold change:
1. The number of stitches as
well as rows has doubled.
2. One blank row was added for
each pattern row. Had the
Scale been "3", then two blank
rows would have been added
for every pattern row.
Adding blank rows could be
used when charting pattern
instructions for a Ribber or
second bed of a double bed
knitting machine, so that
symbols for both beds can be included on separate grid lines.

lf a selection box is active on the pattern,

Rescaling will take place on the contents of the
selection box. The first image on the left has a
selection box drawn around the middle section
of the snowflake.
In the second image, while "Maintain aspect
ration" was ticked, the Scale that was typed in
was "2". This doubled the contents of the selec-
tion box, as well as the selection box itself, but
as this now does not fit in the pattern anymore, the pattern is overwritten and rearranged in an unpre-
dictable way.
Likewise, in the third image, when a Scale factor of ".5" was chosen, the contents are squeezed together
and end up in the bottom left side of the original selection box.

If only part of a stitch pattern needs to be rescaled, a selection box can be drawn, copied and
pasted into a new pattern that has plenty of room to take any scaling, taking notes about the
required size of the finished box. Once rescaling has taken place, the same box can be
copied, pasted and moved to the correct position in the original stitch pattern.

Variations
Modify / Variations offers a quick way to apply different effects to the stitch pattern on the workspace at the
'touch of a button' without going through different options or design tools.

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When the option is clicked the button toolbar as

shown on the left is presented. Each of the buttons
applies a different effect immediately.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the

cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a
quick way of getting to the relevant section.

The various buttons are explained below and the effects have been shown, using different stitch patterns to
demonstrate most clearly. The starting state of the stitch pattern has been shown first, then the result of
applying each Variations button.

Clicking this button reverses

the colour selections in the pattern, in
effect making a 'negative' image. It
can only be applied to patterns that
have two colours per row. If it is
attempted on a pattern with more
colours an error message will appear.
A Fair Isle was used here although a
two colour Jacquard pattern would
also be suitable. The colours in each
row swap over to produce a reversed
image. In the example, the Reverse
button was first of all applied to the
entire pattern, then a selection box was drawn around a part of it and Reverse was applied again to achieve
a playful result (as shown in the third image). This is a very quick way to swap over colours in a stitch
pattern which may also be applied to a selection box .

This button flips the pattern horizontally and can be applied to any
stitch pattern, or a selection box within it. It works exactly like the Modify / Flip
menu option. The stitch pattern is shown here with the grid line view switched
off. If a selection box is used, only its contents will be flipped.

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This button will elongate the pattern vertically, by

doubling each row. In the example on the left, horizontal and
vertical rulers have been clicked and positioned on the
workspace so that the "0" points line up with the left hand side
and bottom of the stitch pattern. The "cm" indicator has been
clicked so that "S" (stitches) is shown on the horizontal and "R"
(rows) on the vertical ruler.
By comparing the measurements it is obvious that the pattern
has doubled in size vertically and has stayed the same
horizontally.
If a selection box is drawn and the button clicked while it is
visible on the workspace, only the contents of the selection box
will be doubled vertically, overriding anything in its way, as
shown in the smaller set in image on the left. The green leaf
underneath the acorn in the selection box has been oblit-
erated.
If there is not enough room in the pattern for the selection box
to be doubled, because it is too close to the edge, or too large,
the doubled contents will overrun and appear on the other side of the pattern.

This option stretches the pattern horizont-

ally, doubling the number of stitches, as can be
seen when comparing the measurements on the
rulers in the image on the left. If a selection box
is active only its contents will be doubled,
overriding anything else in its path.

Clicking this button adds a mirrored copy

of the pattern, thereby doubling it horizontally. In the
image on the left the doubling is most easily seen in the
leaves and acorns bands. DesignaKnit merges the
mirrored parts into one repeat.
The second option is only available if the number of
stitches in the pattern is uneven, and will remove the
centre stitch column.

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If the method of knitting is not

appropriate for applying the selected
option, it can be changed by clicking this
button. The "Machine Knit Options"
dialogue will be opened from which a
different method or knitting machine can
be chosen.

Vary at Random
This feature allows experimenting with different colour settings for the stitch pattern and can be accessed
through the Palettes / Vary at Random menu option.

Clicking Palettes / Vary at Random opens the dialogue shown on the left. This
window can be moved to anywhere on the screen, away from the workspace to
make it easier to see the effects of the different actions on the stitch pattern.
All the colours that are on the current palette will be shown in this window. The
colours that are currently used in the stitch pattern are grouped together at the top
and can be recognised by a solid border around them. The other colours have a
much fainter dotted outline. If more colours are desired to choose from, they can
be added to the palette prior to the "Vary at Random" action (See page 237), or a
different palette can be imported (See page 249) to add its colours to the selection.
The rosy.stp pattern was used for the example on the left and one of the default
palettes was imported. This has combined all of the colours in the "Colour
variations" window.
Using the RMB (Right Mouse Button) a colour can be dragged onto one of the
others, which has the effect of swapping them over, whether they are used,
unused or contain a 'fixed' key.
A colour can be fixed in position by clicking the LMB on it, which will add a white or
black key symbol, ensuring that it will not be changed by "Rotate" and "New"
actions. This is very useful if a particular colour needs to stay in place, while others
can be experimented with. The key can be removed by clicking the LMB on the
colour again.
When "Pattern colours" is ticked, the "Rotate" and "New" actions will only involve
the colours that are not 'fixed' and have a solid outline (showing they are used in the pattern). When "Entire
palette" is ticked, all of the colours, except those that are fixed, will be involved in the actions.
Clicking the "New" button will introduce new and unexpected colours to the pattern and can be a good
source of inspiration.
Each time the "Rotate" button is clicked, a new colour combination will be shown in the stitch pattern. Each
new combination is kept in memory and can be accessed by clicking on the beginning, forward, backward
and end buttons either side of the number. The original combination, number 1, can be retrieved by clicking
the beginning button (see red circle).
"Save" offers the opportunity to save either the stitch pattern or the palette under a different name. Saving
the palette (See on page 246) makes it available for use in different stitch patterns. This option will leave
the "Colour variations" window open for further amendments. "Cancel" will abandon all changes, close the

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"Colour variations" window and return to the workspace. Clicking "OK" accepts the changes and will return
to the workspace, where changes may still be undone by clicking the Undo button, Edit / Undo or "Ctrl-Z" in
the DesignaKnit workspace window.

In this example several

colours have been fixed, as
can be seen by the white
key symbols displayed on
them in the "Colour
variations" windows. If the
colours are light, the key
will be black for contrast.
These colours will not
change with each
subsequent "Rotate" or
"New" action.
Rotate has been clicked
several times and the third
attempt has been shown
here together with the
result.
Previous results can be cycled through and accepted by clicking "OK" or "Save".

Shadows & Outlines

Description 172
Bars 174
Direction 175
Spread and Distance 175
Bird's-eye 176

Modify / Shadows & Outlines provides the possibility of adding thickness to lines and producing different
shadow effects in order to help create very pleasing stitch patterns. It is applicable to colours only, so stitch
symbols could be hidden by unticking the View / Stitch Symbols Palette menu option or clicking the appro-
priate button on the palette.
Effects can be added to any existing stitch pattern as long as it has at least two colours. One of the colours
on the palette is used as a shadow or outline colour. This colour can be changed during the Shadows &
Outlines session as effects are built on top of each other.
A detailed example can be viewed on the website: https://softbyte.co.uk/_dk9web/Shad-
owsAndOutlines1.pdf.

It is also possible to apply the Shadows & Outlines effects to part of a pattern by using a selection box.

Shadows & Outlines effects can be added to Fair Isle and two colour Jacquard patterns by temporarily
adding a third colour which is later incorporated in the design to adhere to the two colour per row restriction.
It is important to keep a few things in mind when working with Shadows & Outlines:

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○ A Shadow replaces an existing colour.

○ A Shadow can be cast in any direction that is selected and will appear as if there is a light source on
the opposite side of the object.
○ An Outline can be thought of as a shadow that extends in all directions from the centre of the object
and is achieved by using the middle option of the Shadow directions box. If it is smaller than the
object itself it will be invisible. "Shadow distance" is disabled when the middle shadow direction
option is chosen.
○ The settings of "Shadows & Outlines" are remembered by DesignaKnit for the next session. This can
be used to redo changes that were cancelled or undone earlier.

A few examples of
what can be
achieved by
manipulating a
simple stitch
pattern (as shown
below) using
Shadows &
Outlines are
shown on the left.

Description
With a stitch pattern on the workspace, selecting Modify / Shadows & Outlines will present the dialogue
shown below.

When viewing this manual

on the computer, the cursor
may be hovered over the
image. Where the cursor
changes to a hand it can be
clicked on as a quick way of
getting to the relevant
section.

All the colours of the palette are

shown in the "Colour of
shadow" bar and the colours
that are actually in use in the pattern in both of the "Which colour" selection bars.

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As soon as the "Shadows and Outlines" window is shown, the palette becomes floating, which means it
can be accessed during the Shadows & Outlines session. It can be moved out of the confines of the Desig-
naKnit workspace to facilitate viewing the stitch pattern as it is worked on. However, it will be on top of
everything else on the desktop unless it is closed, and can only be accessed again if the "Shadows &
Outlines" session is exited.

Moving the palette to an area of the desktop where it will not get in the way, before accessing
other programs during the Shadows & Outlines session will minimise possible interference.

The palette can be worked on as normal to add, remove, amend, swap or replace colours (See on
page 234). After changes have been made, they will be reflected in the "Shadows and Outlines" window.
Any added or modified colours will be shown in the palette and the "Which colour bars. The changes stay
on the palette when "Apply" or "OK" are clicked, and are abandoned if "Cancel" is clicked. If a colour has
been added, then deleted from the Palette and therefore no longer exists, a new default colour will be
chosen from the existing colours in the Palette.
The effects of the various controls are immediately reflected on the workspace when "Preview" is ticked.

Clicking this button, which is only available when the "Preview" box has been ticked,
applies the changes that have been made in the "Shadows and Outlines" window and creates an Undo
point. This makes the "Undo" button available. "Apply" can be used whenever the result is to be accepted.
A new Undo point is created and "Preview" is unticked to mark that a different set of changes is ready to be
worked on.

This button is greyed out until the "Apply" button has been clicked and will undo the last set
of changes since "Apply". There is only one level of Undo in Shadows & Outlines and no Redo. Although, if
no further action is taken after clicking "Undo" the "Preview" button may be ticked to view the last made
changes in the stitch pattern, which can then be reapplied.

Clicking "OK" will accept any changes that were made, close the "Shadows and Outlines"
window and return to the pattern on the workspace. If the changes were not as desired, they can be
undone by using the Undo button on the Left Toolbar, Edit / Undo or "Ctrl-Z". Any of these options will undo
ALL of the changes that were made during the entire Shadows & Outlines session, regardless of how many
times "Apply" was clicked.

Clicking this option undoes all the changes, regardless of how many times "Apply" was
clicked, returning the stitch pattern and the palette to their state before the current Shadows & Outlines
session.

If the palette is moved to the right of the stitch pattern and the stitch pattern is closed and reopened, it
may no longer be visible. It will be brought back into view by ticking and unticking Options / Floating
Windows for Palette etc or by displaying DesignaKnit full screen.

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Bars

The colours that are displayed in the different

bars depend on the colours that are present in
the palette (in Colour of shadow) and actually
used in the stitch pattern (in Which colour).
The open or filled in little square on each used
colour indicates whether it is transparent or
opaque. Its status can be changed by clicking
on the square and will be reflected in the palette immediately. More information on transparency can be
found in the Palettes chapter (See page 227).
Clicking elsewhere on the colour will place a white circle on it to indicate this is the chosen colour to cast, be
replaced or be the shadow. In addition to being able to choose one colour in each option, DesignaKnit
provides the opportunity to select "Any opaque colour" to cast a shadow and "Any transparent colour" to be
replaced by shadow. This increases the possibilities as colours can be made opaque or transparent in the
"Shadows and Outlines" window, just for this session. After the session is completed, the transparency can
be changed back to what it was.
The colour that casts a shadow and the colour to be replaced by the shadow cannot be the same. If this is
attempted, one of the selections immediately changes to the "Any opaque / transparent colour" option.
In the example above, whatever is Red in the stitch pattern will acquire a Green shadow, while any trans-
parent colour, which in this case is Light blue, will be replaced. All according to the settings of Shadow
spread and distance.

If there are many colours in the

stitch pattern, as shown here, the
"Shadows and Outlines" window
can be stretched (by clicking,
holding and dragging the edge of it)
to hold all the colours comfortably.
This is important as both the trans-
parency indicator and a clear bit of
the colour need to be visible for
clicking on.
In the top image, only the transparency indicator is visible and clicking on it would change the transparency
state instead of selecting the colour itself. In the bottom image either property can be accessed.

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Manipulating Stitch Patterns (Complete)

Direction

The image on the left shows how the colour settings are
displayed in the direction indicator window. In both cases
the colour to cast a shadow is red. In the lower image grey
was chosen as the shadow colour, while any transparent
colour will be replaced, instead of the light blue that was
chosen in the top. This has affected the appearance of the
direction box.
Any of the shadow directions around the middle option can
be chosen for the shadow to take effect in that direction. In
the top example the shadow will be cast down and to the
right, as if there is a light source above and to the left, while
in the lower example the shadow will be cast upward, as if
the light source is below.
The middle button will cause the shadow to extend in all directions equally and is in effect an outline. If a
contrasting shadow colour to the 'Which colour casts a shadow' is chosen, this will be contrasted, if the
same colour is chosen the line will be thicker. When this option is selected, the Shadow distance option is
disabled.

Spread and Distance

An object can produce a shadow that is larger or a smaller than itself and it can be
set at a distance from the original object. Experimenting with 'Spread' and
'Distance' can produce pleasing and surprising effects.
The numbers in the entry boxes can either be typed in directly or they can be
chosen by clicking on the small Up and Down triangles next to the numbers. The values represent stitches
and when entered here will be remembered for the next "Shadows & Outlines" session.
Spread - Entering a positive number in the "Shadow spread" field produces an enlarged shadow, zero
produces a shadow of the same size, and a negative number produces a smaller shadow. A shadow that is
the same size, but set at a distance from the object can be very effective. A shadow that is smaller than the
object it is cast from and set at a distance from it can provide an impression of depth. If the central shadow
direction option is selected, a positive spread must be selected, otherwise the shadow will be the same size
or smaller than the object, and will therefore be hidden behind it.
Distance - The shadow can be cast some distance to one side of an object without being connected to it,
thereby creating an impression of depth. If the shadow direction is to the right, and the shadow distance is
5, an object's shadow will appear 5 stitches to the right of it. If the shadow direction is to the bottom left it will
be placed 5 stitches to the left and 5 rows below its object. If a negative number is entered without changing
the shadow direction, the shadow will appear to the opposite side instead.

An example has been given

here, using a simple stitch
pattern, consisting of lines of a
single stitch width that was
made thicker by using the
settings as shown on the left.
"Apply" was clicked to create
an Undo point.

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When a starting point has been achieved it is a good idea to return to the DesignaKnit main workspace to
save the pattern, before further manipulation in Shadows & Outlines, so that it is easy to return to this state.

In the example above, Red has been selected to be the object to cast a shadow, Light blue will be replaced
by the shadow, which is Mid blue. The value of the Shadow spread is its thickness in stitches. If a value of
"0" is entered it makes the shadow the same width as the object it is cast from. A shadow of the same width
will be invisible unless the Shadow distance value is set to move it away from its source. The Mid blue
shadow that is cast here has a spread of “0”, meaning it is the same thickness as the red line from which it
is cast.
In the rightmost image the Shadow distance was set at "-4" and the spread at "5", showing that a negative
number will cast the shadow to the other side and increasing the Shadow spread value will thicken the
shadow.
As soon as "Apply" is clicked, the "Preview" box is unticked and needs to ticked again to reflect new
changes in the pattern on the workspace. The newly added colour is added to the "Which colour" bars, so it
can be selected as an object to apply shadow to.

Bird's-eye

When the "Bird's-eye" option is ticked a second

shadow colour bar appears and a colour can
be selected in each bar to produce an altern-
ating effect in the finished fabric, giving the
illusion of a third colour when viewed from a
distance (See on page 110).
This technique can be used to produce an apparent third colour in a two colour stitch pattern. An example
has been worked out below for a two colour Fair Isle pattern where more colours were used in order to
produce the Bird's-eye effect, after which the stitch pattern was reduced to the two colours it is allowed as
Fair Isle. If more colours are used and required, the pattern can of course be changed to Jacquard with
more colours in Options / Method of Knitting.

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The basic stitch pattern that

was used before is used again,
with a thickened line. A dark
grey outline was added and
applied, after which a light grey
thicker shadow was added to
the bottom right. Before "Apply"
was clicked, the "Bird's-eye"
button was clicked and the
second colour was chosen to
be red, resulting in alternating
red and grey stitches for the
shadow.
The settings were applied one
after the other, as shown on the
left to arrive at the last pattern.
As more colours are added to
the stitch pattern they are
reflected in the "Which colour"
bar whenever "Apply" is
clicked, as can be seen here
where dark grey is added.
The final adjustments need to
take place in the main DesignaKnit workspace, so both "Apply" and "OK" were clicked.

Light grey was replaced by dark

grey by making dark grey the
LMB and light grey the RMB,
then clicking the "Replace"
button (see blue arrows). In the
same way red was replaced by
light blue. These actions have
reduced a four colour stitch
pattern to a two colour one,
suitable for Fair Isle or two
colour Jacquard.

The best results are achieved through using a combination of Shadows & Outlines and Design tools.

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 Shapes and Stitch Patterns (Complete)

Shapes and Stitch Patterns

Working with Shape Files 178
Cut and Sew 187
AutoChart 199

Shape files (.shp) and stitch pattern files (.stp) can be combined. Shape files are created in Standard
Garment Styling or Original Pattern Drafting and stitch patterns are designed in Stitch Designer. Each
shape file can be integrated with one or more stitch patterns. Cut and Sew stitch patterns can be created
for specific garment pieces. Garment pieces from Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment Styling
shape files can be accessed in Stitch Designer, positioned onto a stitch pattern and so integrated. After the
shape file is saved in this way, it will still be accessible in Original Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment
Styling for further shaping, if desired.

Matching shape files to stitch patterns can be viewed as laying out garment pieces over a length of
fabric. Although it is not a lay plan, the various garment pieces can be matched to the stitch pattern, so
that stitch patterns overlap or touch at the required positions.

In Standard Garment Styling stitch patterns cannot be applied directly to the garment pieces. Instead, the
shape files can be opened in Stitch Designer and integrated with a stitch pattern. This does not alter the
character of the shape file, which can still be opened in Standard Garment Styling. The stitch pattern will
not be visible on the Standard Garment Styling workspace, but can be seen when using the Garment
picture & Stitch pat picture (See page 387) print option for the pieces with stitch patterns.
In Original Pattern Drafting stitch patterns can be applied, positioned and integrated with garment pieces.
Alternatively, with a stitch pattern open on the workspace, a shape file can be opened from within Stitch
Designer. This enables very accurate positioning of the garment pieces, relative to the stitch pattern.
One stitch pattern can be associated and saved with many shape files. The settings for tension, integration,
pattern repeats and positions are saved with the shape file, not the stitch pattern file. If one shape file is to
be knitted with different stitch patterns it is good practice to save it with a different name for every different
stitch pattern that is used.

Each shape file piece (garment piece) can be associated with only one stitch pattern, but
one stitch pattern can be associated with any number of pieces in any number of shape
files.

The Shapes menu provides all the options necessary to lay out shapes on a stitch pattern and integrate
them. To access all of the options in this menu, a shape file has to be active.

Working with Shape Files

Opening 179
Tensions 180
Positioning 182
Integrating 184
Naming 187

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Opening
A shape file can be opened by using the Shapes / Thumbnails (See on page 458) or the Shapes / Open
Shape File (See on page 462) menu option. Both options go directly to the Shapes folder in DesignaKnit,
displaying shape files only (*.shp).
When a shape file is associated with a stitch pattern, DesignaKnit will add the shape file name (and active
piece therein) to the title bar information, as shown below for Hand (top) and Machine (bottom) knit. The
tension is the tension that is chosen for the shape file (See on the facing page).

Alternatively, clicking on either of the Top Toolbar buttons shown here, will open the Shapes /
Thumbnails dialogue if a shape file is not already active, and one can be selected.

Opening a shape file in Standard Garment Styling or Original Pattern Drafting, then switching to Stitch
Designer automatically associates that shape file with the stitch pattern that is open in Stitch Designer.

Opening a shape file will place the outline of the chosen piece(s)
on the workspace, creating as many pattern repeats as are
needed to knit the garment piece(s). In the first image, the
default stitch pattern that Stitch Designer opens with was on the
workspace. In the second image a different stitch pattern was
already open.
Once a shape file is opened within Stitch Designer it will remain
active until it or DesignaKnit is closed, even if another stitch
pattern is opened.
If a shape file piece has never been integrated with a stitch
pattern it will be displayed with the first stitch pattern row leftmost
on the first row of the garment piece. Horizontal and vertical
stitch pattern repeats will be added automatically to accom-
modate the width and height of the selected piece(s). The order
in which garment pieces are shown is as in the Shapes / View
Piece(s) box, with the first piece leftmost. Once the pieces are on
the workspace, they can be moved to any desired position on the
stitch pattern. If garment pieces have previously been integrated with the current or a different stitch
pattern, they will appear in the positions at which they were last saved.
If View / Boundary is ticked, lines will be displayed to mark each stitch pattern repeat. In the images on the
left, the Boundary lines are pink in the first and yellow in the second image.

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The colours for the lines of the stitch pattern Boundary, Current Piece and Other Pieces may
be chosen in such a way that they contrast best against the stitch pattern (See on page 21).
They can be different for, and are saved with, each stitch pattern.

Closing a shape file can be done by using the menu option Shapes / Close Shape File or by clicking
the relevant button (shown on the left) on the Top Toolbar.
When a shape file is saved by using the Shapes / Save (As) menu option, its tension, the number of stitch
pattern repeats and the layout of the pieces relative to the stitch pattern are all saved.

Tensions
When associating a shape file with a stitch pattern file, tensions need to match before DesignaKnit will
continue with the operation. This ensures consistent knitting throughout the work (See on page 420). When
a shape file is created in Original Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment Styling, tensions are applied. When
a stitch pattern is created, the current Stitch Designer tension is used, which may differ from the tension set
in the intended shape file.
If the opened shape file tension matches the current Stitch Designer tension, DesignaKnit will skip the
"Match tension" dialogue and proceed to opening the "Select pattern pieces" window (See on page 182).
If the current Stitch Designer tension is different to the shape file tension, the "Match tension" dialogue will
appear and the current Stitch Designer tension can be changed to match the shape file tension, or the
shape can be changed to match the current Stitch Designer tension, or both can be changed to match the
default tensions, or a new set of tension values can be entered to be applied to both.
The tension set at this point is saved for this session. On using Shapes / Save Shape File (As) it is saved
with the shape file and on reopening it in Standard Garment Styling, Original Pattern Drafting or Interactive
Knitting, the shape file will open at the saved tension setting.
If a stitch pattern is integrated from Original Pattern Drafting it will automatically take on the tension of the
shape file. In Stitch Designer, if Stitch Designer tension and shape file tension do not match, the required
tension needs to be chosen.

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The different options are

presented in the dialogue, as
shown on the left.
If the selected knitting
machine is a Passap, the
tensions are measured in
stitches and lock passes (See
page 424)

Stitch Designer and shape

file tensions must match.

Clicking the "Show details"

box (as was done here) gives
information about shape file,
stitch pattern and the
tensions involved in order to
make an informed choice. If
the option is unticked, only
the top part of the dialogue
will be shown.
"Use the shape file tension"
changes the Stitch Designer
tension to the tension of the shape file. This tension will be used for every stitch pattern that is subsequently
opened in this DesignaKnit session until another shape file with a different tension is chosen, at which point
the "Match tension" dialogue will open again.
As the shape file tension will generally be the required tension, because garment shapes are deliberately
designed with a certain tension programmed into them, this option is ticked as default.
"Use the current Stitch Designer setting" changes the shape file tension and the shape file will need to
be saved to keep this setting. This option is greyed out if Stitch Designer is switched to from Original
Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment Styling with an opened shape file, as it is presumed the shape file
has the required tension.
"Change to the default tension" changes both shape file and Stitch Designer tension to the default
tensions that are shown in the window. The shape file will need to be saved to keep this tension.
"Change to new values" can be chosen if entirely different values are required. This option presents the
tension dialogue as described in the Work flow chapter (See page 55).

If the shape file tension has been changed and the original shape file needs to be retained,
the altered shape file needs to be saved with a different name, by using the Shapes / Save
Shape As menu option.

Clicking "OK" accepts whichever of the four options was ticked and DesignaKnit will proceed accordingly.
Clicking "Cancel opening shape file" returns to the Stitch Designer main workspace, abandoning any
changes.
Tensions cannot be saved as part of a stitch pattern file, but if required they can be described in the stitch
pattern notes for future reference by using the Edit / Notes menu option. These notes are part of the stitch

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 Shapes and Stitch Patterns (Complete)

pattern file and are saved along with it. The stitch pattern itself adapts to work with any tensions that are
chosen in the associated shape file.

Positioning
Stitch pattern positioning is not possible in Standard Garment Styling, as stitch patterns cannot be applied
there. In Original Pattern Drafting it is possible, but it is not very easy to see how the stitch pattern matches
from one piece to another. Precise positioning can be done in Stitch Designer by displaying the pieces on
the stitch pattern and moving them relative to each other. Saving the shape file then keeps the integration
information with the Standard Garment Styling or Original Pattern Drafting file shape.
Shape file pieces that have not yet been integrated with a stitch pattern will be placed side by side onto the
workspace, with the stitch pattern repeating as many times as is needed to cover all the pieces. Selecting
the pieces integrates them with the stitch pattern automatically. This can be seen by going to Shapes /
Integrate where the selected pieces will be ticked for the current stitch pattern, unless they have been
associated with different stitch patterns in the past. If the stitch pattern is unticked here it will be uninteg-
rated or integrated with a previously integrated pattern.
Although it can seem clear to see the pieces side by side on the workspace, it is important to realise this is
not a lay plan. The intention of seeing and moving the pieces on the Stitch Designer workspace is to
position them correctly and integrate that position with the Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment
Styling shape file.

If a shape
file is already
open, the Shapes
/ View Piece(s)
menu option or
one of the buttons
on the Top
Toolbar (shown
on the left) can be
clicked to open
the "Select pattern pieces" dialogue in order to select pieces from it.
This dialogue is also presented after the Stitch Designer and shape file tensions have been matched.
Some or all pieces can be selected by clicking, using the "Shift" and "Ctrl" keys if necessary to select a
range or individual pieces. All the garment pieces in the shape file are listed and whether they are worked
on in Standard Garment Styling, Original Pattern Drafting and / or Exact Stitch Layout is shown. If stitch
patterns are integrated they are shown next to the relevant garment piece. If the garment piece is not integ-
rated, the space will be blank and if a piece has been integrated with a stitch pattern that was since deleted,
the dialogue will display a "Cannot find the file" message with the file name. The selected pieces will be
integrated with the open stitch pattern and on saving, will overwrite any previous integration.

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Shapes and Stitch Patterns (Complete)

The selected pieces will be displayed on the workspace, with the current
stitch pattern showing as many repeats as necessary both horizontally and
vertically.
The three selected pieces that are shown here overlap on the workspace
because they have previously been moved to these positions and are integ-
rated.
If pieces have been integrated at any time in the past, their position will be
the same as it was at that time, which may overlap other pieces on the
workspace. The active piece is highlighted in a different colour, which in
this example is white.
Side by side display can be achieved by clicking the red cross to the right of
the associated stitch pattern for all the pieces in Shapes / Integrate, then saving and closing the shape file
through Shapes / Close Shape File. The stitch pattern will now be unintegrated. Opening the shape file
again will then display the selected pieces side by side on the workspace, with the first piece leftmost on
the bottom.

Different or all pieces may be selected for display by clicking one of the buttons on the Top Toolbar
that are shown here. The number of stitch pattern repeats shown on the workspace is automatically
adjusted to the minimum number required to accommodate all the selected (visible) pieces, altering the
zoom level if necessary. Dragging a piece away from other pieces can result in zooming out to show more
repeats, while dragging it towards other pieces can result in zooming in to show fewer repeats.

It is important to realise this is not a lay plan, but a background against which shape files are laid out to
achieve accurate positioning for correct integration. Shape file pieces can be lined up next to each
other, or overlapped so that they match at specific places or seams.

In order to move a piece it has to be selected. Clicking the "Move piece" Top Toolbar button changes
the cursor to a four arrow symbol. Clicking once on any of the pieces will activate it, after which the
keyboard arrow keys or the mouse can be used to move it to the desired position. It is the garment piece
(shape file) that is moved, not the stitch pattern.

The "Move piece" mode can also be accessed by double clicking on one of the pieces, which results in
placing the four arrows cursor on it, so activating the piece. The currently active piece is outlined in a
different colour, as defined in the Colour Scheme (See page 21). A different piece can be made active by
clicking on it or by using "Tab" or "Shift-Tab" to cycle through to it.
The Zoom level can be changed for a better overall view by using the mouse wheel, the Zoom buttons of
the Top Toolbar or the options in the Zoom menu. The "Move piece" mode will stay active until the button is
clicked or the mouse is clicked outside of the pieces.
The arrow keys can be used to move a piece by 1 stitch or row at a time. If the "Shift" key is held while
pressing the arrow key, the piece will move 5 stitches or rows at a time. Holding the "Ctrl" key moves the
piece 20 stitches or rows. All keyboard moves on one piece are seen as one action in DesignaKnit and can
be undone by clicking the Undo button on the Left Toolbar, Edit / Undo or "Ctrl-Z".
The mouse can be used to move the active piece by clicking, holding and dragging it to a different location.
Every time the mouse is let go is seen as one action, which can be undone. Another piece can be made
active by clicking on it or by using "Tab" or "Shift-Tab" to move the focus.

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For a clear view of the pieces, the

button shown on the left may be clicked
to "Cut pieces out of pattern", which will
remove the fabric outside of the
garment piece(s). This can make the
display clearer as long as the pieces do
not overlap. Activating any of the
drawing tools will switch off this feature
and will redisplay the outlines of the garment pieces over the stitch pattern as before.
The pieces can still be moved by clicking the four arrows button. However, this will move the outlines over
the 'background' stitch pattern, thus changing the position of the stitch pattern relative to the shape, as can
be seen in the second image by comparing the contents of the red rectangles. The middle piece has been
moved down, which has moved the bottom of the piece to a different position relative to the stitch pattern.

If pieces overlap when they are placed correctly relative to each other, they may be selected
one by one using the Shapes / View pieces menu option (or clicking the relevant Top
Toolbar button). Using the "Cut pieces out of pattern" toolbar button will then provide a clear
view of each individual garment piece.

Integrating
The purpose of integrating shape files with stitch patterns is to ensure that stitch pattern and garment
pieces are correctly lined up. Once integrated and saved, stitch pattern and shape file are locked into this
position (relative to the bottom leftmost stitch of the stitch pattern), even if the stitch pattern changes in size.
Both Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment Styling shape files can be used for integration with
stitch patterns.
If an unintegrated stitch pattern is downloaded to the knitting machine, DesignaKnit places the stitch
pattern in the centre of the needle bed. If an integrated stitch pattern is downloaded, the shape file
(garment) piece is placed in the centre of the needle bed and the stitch pattern is downloaded so it is in the
correct position for the garment piece. If punch cards or Mylar sheets are used, the pattern will be shuffled
according to the template and there will be no need to program the knitting machine. More information
about downloading stitch patterns to knitting machines can be found in Download to Knitting Machine (See
page 450) and Integrated Download (See page 455). Integrated pattern instructions or charts can be
printed by using the File / Print menu option in Original Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment Styling.
Integrating a shape file with a stitch pattern can be done by opening the desired stitch pattern in Stitch
Designer, then opening the desired shape file by using one of the available options in the Shapes menu or
on the Top Toolbar (See on page 179). If tension of Stitch Designer and shape file are not the same, a
dialogue is presented and the tensions can be reconciled (See on page 180).

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The Shapes / Integrate menu

option presents the "Integrate"
dialogue as shown on the left.
Any associated stitch patterns
will be shown next to the
garment pieces, regardless of
whether they were integrated
in Original Pattern Drafting or
Stitch Designer.
All of the options of the Integ-
rate dialogue have been
described in detail in the Integ-
rate (See page 440) chapter.
Different stitch patterns can be
selected for different garment
pieces in the Shapes / Integ-
rate menu option by clicking on
the ".." button (see blue arrow),
which will present the "Open
stitch pattern" dialogue (See
on page 433). Any stitch
pattern may be chosen and will be accepted with the selected garment piece when this is saved.
If a stitch pattern other than the currently open one is chosen, the box to the left of the Garment piece (see
red arrow) is immediately unticked because only the stitch pattern that is open on the workspace can be
altered in the current session. If the box were to be ticked, the "Associated stitch pattern" would change to
the current stitch pattern. Subsequently unticking will redisplay the previous stitch pattern.

If the stitch pattern has been amended prior to opening the "Integrate" dialogue, by for example
changing anything in the method of knitting or using the design tools, the Save prompt is presented.
Clicking "Yes" proceeds with integrating and clicking "No" abandons the operation.

The "Integrate" dialogue matches the one accessed in Original Pattern Drafting (File / Integrate), with slight
differences. The stitch patterns that are displayed in Stitch Designer are integrated with the shape whether
or not the box in front of them is ticked, while all the garment piece boxes that are integrated with any stitch
patterns are ticked in Original Pattern Drafting. Pieces can be shown on the Stitch Designer workspace for
the current stitch pattern only, by ticking the Garment piece box in front of the stitch pattern (see red arrow),
selecting the pieces from the Shapes / View Piece(s) menu option or clicking the relevant button on the Top
Toolbar. If the "Associated stitch patterns" field is blank, no stitch pattern has been integrated for that
garment piece.

If Cut and Sew (See page 187) stitch patterns are used for integration, each shape file garment piece is
likely to have a different integrated stitch pattern, as each Cut and Sew stitch pattern is created specific-
ally for each garment piece.

The red "x" to the right of each stitch pattern (see red circle) can be ticked to unintegrate a stitch pattern.
When the shape file is subsequently saved, this stitch pattern will be unintegrated completely and the
"Associated stitch patterns" field will be blank in both Stitch Designer and Original Pattern Drafting.

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A different stitch pattern can be selected to be integrated with the

currently active shape file, by clicking the ".." button in the "Integ-
rate" dialogue or by using the File menu. On selecting one, Desig-
naKnit will present the warning box shown here if changes have
been made in the current stitch pattern. Even though the stitch
pattern may not have been changed as such, the number of pattern repeats could have altered, which is
perceived as a change. If "Yes" is clicked, the file can be saved under its original or a new name and the
new stitch pattern is subsequently placed on the workspace.

When a stitch pattern is opened in Stitch Designer, it is opened

with as many or few repeats as it was last saved with, as can be
seen in the example on the left, where the pattern boundaries
(yellow lines) are shown. The shape file is present and outlines
of all the pieces that were integrated with the previous stitch
pattern are visible on the workspace.
If there is no open shape file, one can be opened through the
Shapes / Thumbnails or Shapes / Open Shape File which will
opens the "Select Pattern Pieces" dialogue. Alternatively, the
Shapes / Integrate menu option may be used. This last option
will open the thumbnails view to select a shape file, after which the "Integrate" dialogue is opened. Piece
outlines will be displayed for those pieces that had previously been integrated with the currently open stitch
pattern, and are thus ticked.

Shape files may have existing integrations with different stitch

patterns, as can be seen by the absence of ticks in the "Garment
pieces" boxes in the example on the left. The pieces are shown
with the stitch patterns they are integrated with previously, or
blank fields if no pieces have been integrated. Ticking the boxes
will integrate the current stitch pattern.
Opening a new stitch pattern while a shape file is already open for the previous one will show the already
displayed outlines of the pieces of that shape file over the new stitch pattern. It can be useful to see what a
garment piece looks like with a different stitch pattern. Different garment pieces can be integrated and
moved to different positions on the stitch pattern. If no pieces had been ticked for integration with the
current stitch pattern, no outlines will be displayed.

Either ticking all the garment pieces that are to be integrated

with the new stitch pattern in this dialogue, or returning to the
workspace, then clicking the "Select pieces to display" button and
selecting the relevant pieces, will integrate them with the newly
chosen stitch pattern. This will also adjust the workspace with as
many stitch pattern repeats as are necessary to display the
garment pieces on them. Saving the shape file with a different name will leave the original shape file intact
with the original stitch pattern integration.

If the shape file is closed or another program

section is switched to, the warning shown on the
left may appear to ensure that any changes are
incorporated and the shape file is saved with the
correct stitch pattern integration. The information
that is saved is the stitch pattern that is ticked in

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Shapes / Integrate, which is not necessarily the stitch pattern that is currently on the workspace. This
warning may also appear if a different stitch pattern is switched to and has been worked with for a while.
The shape file can also be saved with the stitch pattern integration information through the Shapes / Save
Shape (As) menu option.

Naming
As more stitch patterns are created, naming the files in a consistent manner becomes very important to
keep track. For one garment, there could be an Original Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment Styling
shape file, one or more stitch pattern files and Cut and Sew stitch pattern files.
One suggestion is to start the file name with the garment or recipient name. The main Original Pattern
Drafting or Standard Garment Styling garment could consist of recipient name and garment name. A stitch
pattern that is used exclusively with it could start with the same, then an identifiable stitch pattern name,
while any Cut and Sew stitch patterns could have a CS identifier added. For example:
○ TomJacket.shp - Original Pattern Drafting shape file, with garment pieces: Back, Sleeve, Front-right,
Front-left
○ Snowflake.stp - Original stitch pattern
○ TomJacket Snowflake.stp - Stitch Designer main stitch pattern file, which may be a copy of
Snowflake.stp, with or without amendments
○ TomJacket Sheep - Stitch Designer second stitch pattern that could be used for other pieces of the
shape file
○ TomJacketCS Front-left Snowflake.stp - Stitch Designer Cut and Sew stitch pattern for the Front-left
garment piece
○ TomJacketCS Sleeve Sheep.stp - Stitch Designer Cut and Sew second stitch pattern for the sleeve
garment piece
The aim is to keep the file names simple, sensible and easily identifiable as belonging together. The above
is merely one example, there are other ways to order and name files systematically, possibly creating
different folders to arrange files that belong together. It is good practice to develop a personal system.

File / Save (As) saves the stitch pattern, Shapes / Save Shape (As) saves the shape file. Stitch pattern
information can be saved with the file when it is integrated.

Cut and Sew

Options 189
Leave side edges unmarked 192
Process 193
Texture Variation 196

Shape file (garment) pieces can be integrated with stitch patterns. Each shape file (.shp) can consist of
several garment pieces (e.g., front, back, sleeve) and a different stitch pattern (.stp) can be integrated with
each piece. At the Interactive Knitting stage, either a stitch pattern or a garment piece is selected for
downloading to a knitting machine or for following the knitting instructions in Interactive Knitting.
Cut and Sew can be used with Hand knit, Fair Isle, Jacquard and Intarsia stitch patterns. As Right / Wrong
side facing texture methods only knit one colour per row, there are no colours to make a contrasting outline
with.

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The Cut and Sew technique can be used to avoid difficult shaping, such as for necklines. As it results in
excess fabric that is later discarded, it is almost exclusively used for machine knitting. It can be used for
different purposes:
○ If a length of fabric is required from which a garment piece can physically be cut out, Cut and Sew is
used to mark the parts that are later cut away. A garment piece is positioned on a stitch pattern
'background' and its outline is marked in coloured yarn. The resulting file is saved as a separate
stitch pattern which can be downloaded and knitted in Interactive Knitting. Any stitch pattern that is
produced with Cut and Sew is only suitable for the garment piece that it was created for.
If Cut and Sew is used to generate a separate stitch pattern, there is no constraint on shaping
because the piece is to be physically cut out. Double row steps are therefore not needed on gentle
slopes and single row steps, which provide smoother shaping that is more true to body shape,
should be applied to the entire piece. Converting to single row steps must be done in Original Pattern
Drafting before using the Stitch Designer Cut and Sew option, by using the Technique / Shaping
Method menu option to set each slope to "N" (No adjustment). All slopes can be selected at once by
using "Ctrl-A".
○ If a combination is required of shaping sides of a garment piece while marking the neckline that is to
be cut away later, the "Leave side edges unmarked" option (See page 192) needs to be ticked. On
using Shapes / Save Shape (As), the Cut and Sew information is saved with the shape file and there
is no need to save a separate stitch pattern. The shape file garment piece is simply selected,
downloaded and knitted in one piece, rather than knitting in sections in Interactive Knitting.
If the "Leave side edges unmarked" option is ticked, the side seams will keep any double row steps
that are there, but seams that would normally cause the piece to be knitted in sections, such as a
neckline, should be set to single row steps in Original Pattern Drafting.

The Cut and Sew feature is generally used to create separately saved stitch patterns that can be knitted
in Interactive Knitting. However, if "Leave side edges unmarked" is ticked, shaping is done for the side
edges while Cut and Sew is used to mark a neckline.

Cut and Sew stitch patterns could be considered for (double bed) Jacquard knitting. Jacquard fabric can
become too bulky for shaping while knitting, as there are always multiple passes of the carriage to knit each
row. It is not so suitable for fully fashioned shaping where edges have a decorative effect, as unravelling
has to be prevented, which can make the seams bulkier. However, if the yarn is woollen-spun or the
finished project will be felted, this does not need to be a problem.
After knitting, the Cut and Sew pieces need to be physically cut out from the fabric and sewn together.
Cutting out is most commonly done by using an Overlocker (or Serger) machine which secures edges and
cuts off excess material at the same time. It can also be done by securing the edges with sewing machine
or hand stitching, then cutting with scissors.

Cut and Sew makes difficult garment shaping easier to do. The example on the left
shows a jumper that is knitted sideways and shaping would require a lot of casting on
and off for the areas indicated by the blue arrows.
The correctly shaped garment piece could be produced by knitting a length of fabric
with a stitch pattern applied across the entire piece. Paper templates, which can be
printed from DesignaKnit by using Shapes / Print Shapes / Garment Outline (See on
page 379), KnitLeader (See page 378) or KnitRadar (See page 379), could then be
pinned on top of the fabric. Cutting around the edge of the paper, after securing the
edges from unravelling, will result in the required pieces.

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DesignaKnit provides Cut and Sew to make this process easier and more accurate by giving options to fill
the area to be cut away with a contrasting colour or mark the outline of the shape that is to be retained as
part of the pattern, rather than having to use paper templates to pin to the fabric.
A garment piece can be combined with a specific stitch pattern into a new stitch pattern file. Cut and Sew
options are used to mark the new stitch pattern with coloured yarn so that the garment shape stands out
clearly. The markings, whether Outline, Fill or Bird's-eye are usually made up from the colours that are
used in the stitch pattern. Although not recommended, an extra colour could be introduced to make the
contrast even clearer. As adding a colour usually changes the nature of the stitch pattern, it should only be
considered for hand knitting, Intarsia and Right / Wrong side facing texture methods where the number of
colours is not crucial to the pattern. If, for example, an extra colour were to be introduced to a Fair Isle
pattern, the method would need to be changed to 3 colour Jacquard.
After applying Cut and Sew options, all stitch pattern repeats that are necessary to fill the garment piece
are merged into one, producing a unique stitch pattern for that particular garment piece. If a Cut and Sew
stitch pattern is produced in this way it must be saved separately so it can be knitted as a stitch pattern
rather than as a piece of a garment shape file.

Options
There are a number of options that can be set for Cut and Sew stitch patterns to achieve the clearest result.
Not all options are compatible with each other and DesignaKnit will switch to compatible combinations if
necessary.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the

cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a
quick way of getting to the relevant section.

It is important to remember that each shape file

(garment) piece that Cut and Sew is applied to results
in a new stitch pattern file. The selected options
cannot be changed after saving the stitch pattern and
if the applied options did not turn out as required, a
new Cut and Sew stitch pattern will need to be
created.
Cut and Sew Options are applied as soon as "OK" is
clicked. The stitch pattern name changes to "Untitled"
in the title bar, indicating that this is now a new stitch
pattern.
If the changes are not as desired, the Undo button on
the Left Toolbar, Edit / Undo or "Ctrl-Z" can be used
to step back to before any Cut and Sew options were
applied. The stitch pattern name will change back
from "Untitled" to whatever it was before. Shapes /
Cut and Sew can then be accessed again and after clicking "No" when DesignaKnit prompts to save the
stitch pattern, the relevant piece can be (re)selected. New options can be tried and tested until the most
suitable one is found.
The "Cut and Sew Options" dialogue has three sections in which options can be defined, as well as the
"Leave side edges unmarked" (See page 192) option. The "Side edges (end needle selection)" option is
only available for Fair Isle patterns and "Leave side edges unmarked" is only available for Jacquard
methods.

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Selection of Colour

○ "Default colour" - results in a contrasting colour pattern for the

Outline, Fill and Bird's-eye options, using colours from the current
stitch pattern. As few colours as possible are used to ensure the
clearest outline or fill and they are placed in such a way that they
contrast. E.g., where there are white stitches at the edge of the
garment piece in the example on the right, pink stitches will be
placed adjacent, or white bands may be placed next to pink edge
stitches, using combinations of colours already in the stitch pattern.
If "Default colour" is selected after "Fill inside + outside" has been
ticked, this will automatically be changed to "Fill outside" as these
options are not compatible.
The example on the right shows a Fair Isle garment piece. The inset
shows a detail of the neckline to which Cut and Sew "Fill outside"
has been applied while using the "Default colour" option. The green line that marks the outline of the
shape does NOT represent a yarn. Its colour is controlled in the Colour scheme options (See page
21) to contrast with the stitch pattern. The yarn colour that is used to fill outside of the shape (in the
inset) is pink as this provides a better contrast than white. Yellow, although it has been added to the
palette, is ignored because the "Default colour" option only uses colours that are present in the
pattern.

○ "LMB (+RMB) colour" - uses whichever colours have been

assigned to the left and right mouse buttons in the palette for the
Outline, Fill or Bird's-eye options. If colours that do not yet exist in
the stitch pattern are assigned, a warning may be presented on
saving or using the Check option if the method of knitting needs to
be changed due to the extra colour. Although it is recommended to
only assign colours that exist in the pattern, it can sometimes be
clearer to introduce a new contrasting colour. The "LMB (+RMB)
colour" will contrast in the same way as "Default colour".
The example on the right shows a Fair Isle garment piece. The inset
shows a detail of the neckline to which "Fill outside" has been
applied with the "LMB (+RMB) colour" option. Pink has been
assigned to the LMB in order to keep to the colours of the stitch
pattern. If yellow had still been assigned to the LMB, it would have become part of the stitch pattern,
thereby necessitating a change to 3 colour Jacquard. The LMB (+RMB) colour option should only be
used for Fair Isle patterns if this will not introduce a third colour into any row.
Selection of Outline or Fill

○ "Outline" - a single stitch outline is placed around the

perimeter of the garment piece, as can be seen in the
images on the right. "Outline" will use contrasting colours at
the edge of the shape, based on whether "Default colour"
(leftmost image) or "LMB (+RMB) colour" (rightmost image)
is selected. If a stitch pattern is 'busy', it may be advant-
ageous to add a contrasting colour to the palette as has
been done for the rightmost image, bearing in mind that the method of knitting may need to be
adjusted. For Fair Isle and Jacquard patterns, where the colours of the pattern itself should be used,
it is much better to choose the Fill Outside or Bird's-eye options to create a clear contrast.

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○ "Bird's-eye outside" - a Bird's-eye (See on page 110)

pattern is placed all around the shape, providing clear
markings with stable edge stitches, especially in Fair Isle
knitting. This can be seen in the Jacquard (leftmost) and
Fair Isle (rightmost) images on the right. Bird's-eye can be
made up from the default colours or from the LMB (+RMB)
colours, taking care that new colours are not introduced to the pattern. The green line that can be
seen in the rightmost image and the less obvious white line in the leftmost image are controlled by
the Colour scheme option for 'current pattern piece', they are not yarn colours.

○ "Fill outside" - the colour surrounding the garment

shape is based on either the "Default colour" or the
"LMB (+RMB) colour", as shown in the images on the
right. When "Default colour" is ticked, bands of the
contrasting colours are used, distributing them in such a way that the best possible contrast is
achieved with the colour next to each row in the pattern. The rightmost image shows the "LMB
(+RMB) colour" option, which fills all the stitches outside of the shape with stitches in one colour. In
this case, the LMB has been assigned to red.

○ "Fill inside + outside" - results in replacing the stitch pattern with

the LMB colour to fill the shape, and the RMB colour to surround
it, effectively turning the garment piece into a plain, one colour
shape, as can be seen in the images on the right. As "Fill inside
+ outside" is incompatible with "Default colour" this option is
automatically changed to "LMB (+RMB) colour" on selecting it.
The images show the initial stitch pattern with two variations of LMB and RMB assignments. If there
were more than two colours per row in a Jacquard stitch pattern, this change will need a change in
the method of knitting because this action will have reduced the number of colours to two. The
method will not need to be changed for Fair Isle, Intarsia and Right / Wrong side facing texture
methods.

○ "Side edges (end needle selection)" - applies to

Fair Isle patterns only and is greyed out for all
other methods. A one stitch wide border of
stitches is placed along the side edges of the
garment piece (the end needles) in the LMB
colour, as shown in the images on the right.
The fine green line is the result of the Colour
Scheme settings and the side edges markings
are placed just inside them. A contrasting
colour has been used in the rightmost image to
make it clear where the stitches appear, but cannot be used in Fair Isle patterns as it would introduce
a third colour. The "Side edges (end needle position)" option is used for pieces that are to be shaped
in the traditional method by increasing and decreasing rather than by using Cut and Sew and is very
useful for machines with no automatic end needle selection. It provides a very neat edge stitch, and
ensures that both yarns are carried right to the edges of the fabric. When this option is selected, all
the vertical edge stitches are marked, while the horizontal edges (as can be seen at the top of the
piece and along the lower neckline where only the green outline appears) are not.
Border size - the number of stitches and rows that are knitted as a border to the left, right and at the top of
the knitted garment piece can be selected as 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8. This border is extended from whatever combin-
ation of Colour and Outline or Fill pattern is chosen. A border of 8 adds 8 stitch columns to left and right and

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8 rows at the top of the piece. Setting a border will allow for extra cutting room, or it can be set to 0 to knit
the piece to the exact size that was set. If "Side edges (end needle selection)" is ticked, the border should
be set to "0" because the side edge markings are always just one single stitch wide at the edge of the
garment piece.

Leave side edges unmarked

This option is intended for Jacquard and therefore greyed out for all other methods. It is used to enable
partial Cut and Sew in order to knit a garment piece with normal shaping of the side seams and working the
neckline (or other shaping feature that would normally require knitting in more than one section) in
contrasting colours so that this part can be physically cut out after knitting.
With traditional shaping at the side seams, double row steps would be used for a sloping shoulder, but
these are not required for a Cut and Sew piece. Unmarked side edges require the normal double row steps
for the side edges of the garment piece. Single row steps can be stipulated for the slopes of necklines by
altering the setting of those slopes to "N" in Original Pattern Drafting. More information can be found in the
Original Pattern Drafting manual in the Shaping chapter.

The leftmost image shows a 3 colour Jacquard stitch

pattern (see inset) on the Stitch Designer workspace
after a shape file piece has been positioned over it.
After applying "LMB (+RMB) colour" (making sure
that green is assigned to the LMB as shown in the
inset), "Fill Outside", a border of "0" and ticking
"Leave side edges unmarked" the rightmost image is
shown on the workspace.
Only the neckline is filled with green stitches, while
the rest of the shape is not affected. The garment
piece outline is shown and as the border was set to
"0", the shape fits snugly in the stitch pattern without
excess fabric. The stitch pattern will be "Untitled" and needs to be given a meaningful name by clicking the
"Save" button on the Left Toolbar or using the File / Save (As) menu option. The shape file needs to be
saved with the stitch pattern by using the Shapes / Save Shape (As) menu option, which will integrate the
files correctly. If either has not been saved, prompts will be given when opening another stitch pattern or
switching to a different section of DesignaKnit.

On selecting the shape file in Interactive Knitting and choosing the

garment piece that was worked with, the option as shown on the left is
given to knit as a Shape-only or integrated with stitch pattern, which is the
desired option in this case. The option to "Knit as one section" is ticked
and greyed out because this example is a Jacquard pattern. An inform-
ational message is also given to "proceed only if the piece is integrated
with a Cut and Sew stitch pattern".

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After clicking "OK to proceed" the knitting will be shown in the Piece
Overview window, as shown on the left. The side edges are shaped
and shaping instructions will be given at the appropriate times, while
the neckline is knitted into the piece, in one colour, so that it can easily
be identified for cutting out after knitting.

Process
Either a stitch pattern, which is a rectangular piece of fabric, or a shape file (garment) piece which is
shaped can be selected in Interactive Knitting. If a Cut and Sew stitch pattern is selected, this will knit
according to the options that are set, as described and illustrated above (See page 189). If a shape file
piece is selected, a 'normal' or custom made Cut and Sew stitch pattern (in which part of the piece has
been marked for cutting out later) may be integrated. The different options are described below.
Cut and Sew Stitch pattern

Before Cut and Sew can be used, pieces

from a shape file have to moved to the
exact position they need to be in (See on
page 182) and integrated with a stitch
pattern. When the Shapes / Cut and
Sew menu option is clicked, the "Select
piece" dialogue is opened from which
one piece can be selected. This dialogue displays all the pieces, their origin and the stitch pattern name if
one is integrated.

Only one piece can be worked with at a time in Cut and Sew and the resulting stitch pattern should be
saved with a new name.

If the method of knitting is Hand Knit the knitting machine carriage is replaced by
a knitting needle, as shown on the left. As Cut and Sew is most likely to be used
with machine knitting, all images are shown as they would be for machine
knitting.

On opening the saved Cut and Sew stitch pattern in Interactive Knitting,
the "Swatch dimensions" dialogue is presented in which the number of
stitches and rows can be specified, as shown in the detail of the swatch
dimensions dialogue on the left. The actual dimensions of the stitch pattern
are shown in brackets and, because this is a Cut and Sew stitch pattern,
need to be used.
On clicking "OK" the "Piece Overview" at the top right hand side in Inter-
active Knitting shows the resulting piece as shown on the left. The entire
piece will be knitted as a rectangle with the pink bows in the body of the
piece, while pink yarn surrounds (fill outside) the actual shape that will
need to be cut out after knitting.
The swatch uses the Cut and Sew options to produce a rectangular piece
of fabric in which the intended shape is obvious. Knitting the shape file

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garment piece (See page 195) combines the Cut and Sew options with shaping instructions because the
Cut and Sew stitch pattern is completely tailored to the garment piece and will fit it precisely.

In the example on the left the DesignaKnit

bow.stp stitch pattern has been adapted (see
inset) for use with a sideways knitted garment
that consists of two shape file pieces. The
leftmost image shows both pieces on the stitch
pattern which repeats as many times as
needed to accommodate the shape.
The rightmost image shows the selected piece
after Cut and Sew options of Default Colour,
Fill Outside and Border size 2 have been
applied. After "OK" is clicked, the DesignaKnit
title bar reads "Untitled.stp" with its size in
stitches an rows, as shown here:

A name is given to this

newly created Cut and
Sew stitch pattern
through the File / Save As menu option, after
which it can be knitted as a stitch pattern in Interactive Knitting.
If another Cut and Sew stitch pattern needs to be created for another piece of the same shape file, the
process needs to be repeated by opening the original stitch pattern and selecting the relevant piece from
the shape file. It is possible that the shapes have moved relative to the stitch pattern, in which case the
shape file will need to be moved to the correct position over the stitch pattern by using the Move Piece
button on the Top Toolbar (See page 183) before accessing Cut and Sew.
In this way, each of the pieces of a shape file could be saved as separate Cut and Sew stitch patterns. It is
more likely however, that only one or two garment pieces need a separate Cut and Sew stitch pattern,
while the others can be knitted in the usual way with shaping as set in Original Pattern Drafting or Standard
Garment Styling.

The message shown at the top on the left is

presented on switching to Interactive Knitting. As
the newly created stitch pattern is to be knitted
rather than the shape file piece, this message can
be ignored at this time.
The stitch pattern is selected from the "Browse
Stitch Patterns" section in Interactive Knitting, after
which the swatch dimensions dialogue is
presented. The size will need to be changed to the
exact dimensions that are given by DesignaKnit in
order to knit the complete stitch pattern.
The stitch pattern finally appears in the Piece
Overview window as one rectangular piece in
which the shape is clearly marked so that the
outside parts can be cut away after knitting.
Default Colour was chosen in the Cut and Sew
options for this 3 colour Jacquard pattern, so that
the yarns are used as evenly as possible.

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Cut and Sew Shape file

The point of knitting shape file pieces to which Cut and Sew options have been applied is to knit them in
one piece, rather than with sections that would otherwise have resulted. The "Knit as one section" option is
presented in Interactive Knitting for this purpose for methods where there is a choice.

A stitch pattern is opened on the Stitch Designer workspace. A shape

file to which this stitch pattern is to be applied is accessed through
Shapes / Thumbnails, Shapes / Open Shape File or by selecting one of
the files in the recent file list in the Shapes menu and one of its pieces is
selected. The piece is placed on the workspace over the stitch pattern
which will display as many repeats as necessary to accommodate the
shape. The image on the left depicts the shape piece outlined on the
workspace with an inset of an individual pattern repeat.
A Cut and Sew stitch pattern can then be created by accessing Shapes
/ Cut and Sew and setting the options according to the stitch pattern
characteristics and other requirements (See on page 189).

The generated Cut and Sew stitch pattern has to be saved (File / Save (As)) and the Shape file has to
be saved with the Cut and Sew stitch pattern integrated (Shapes / Save Shape File (As)).

If the stitch pattern file is saved after

saving the shape file, the warning as
shown on the left will be presented on
switching to Interactive Knitting (or
opening another file) and "Yes" needs to
be clicked to add the stitch pattern inform-
ation to the shape file. This will link the
two files correctly.
The stitch pattern can be knitted on its own (See page 193) or the shape file can be chosen and will be
knitted according to the Cut and Sew options that were set with the integrated stitch pattern.

Opening the shape file in Interactive

Knitting presents a window from which the
required garment piece has to be selected,
after which a dialogue is presented from
which "Integrated with stitch pattern" or
"Shape-only" can be selected. For knitting
methods where it is possible, such as for
Fair Isle patterns, the box to "Knit as one
section" is available to be ticked or unticked.
If Shape-only is ticked the shape will simply
be knitted in one colour, without the actual
stitch pattern. Ticking "Integrated with stitch
pattern" will knit the selected garment piece
with its associated stitch pattern, which in
this example is a Cut and Sew pattern.

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"Knit as one section" was ticked for the example shown here, which presents the warning that is shown to
proceed only if a Cut and Sew stitch pattern was integrated.

The "Knit as one section" is ticked and greyed out if the method of knitting is Jacquard, or Intarsia when
an AG50 carriage is used. In these instances the piece can only be knitted in one section.

The "Piece Overview" progress window shown above shows the shape of the garment piece and shaping
instructions will be presented for sides and shoulder slopes. The neckline is filled with pink yarn because
that is part of the Cut and Sew stitch pattern.
If the Cut and Sew stitch pattern had been selected for knitting instead of the shape file piece, the pink that
was at the sides of the piece in Stitch Designer would have shown, resulting in knitting a rectangular piece
of fabric from which the shape would need to be cut out, as shown above (See page 193).

If "Knit as one section" was unticked, no

warning message will appear and instruc-
tions will be given to knit the different
sections at the appropriate times.
This box can be ticked or unticked for hand
knitting or when the method of knitting is
Fair Isle or one of the Right / Wrong side
facing texture methods, and the shape file
piece has a neckline or other shaping that
normally requires knitting in more than one
section.
If "Knit as one section" is unticked, one shoulder will be knitted (in this example) while the other shoulder
will be 'held' until the section is complete, then the second section will be picked up to be finished. Effect-
ively, this is no different to knitting an integrated garment piece and Cut and Sew does not need to be used.
To step back or completely abandon Cut and Sew options and changes to the stitch pattern, the Undo
button on the Left Toolbar, Edit / Undo or "Ctrl-Z" may be used repeatedly. When the name in the title bar
changes back from "Untitled" to the original stitch pattern name, all Cut and Sew changes will have been
undone.

It is important to keep in mind whether the original stitch pattern or the Cut and Sew stitch pattern is
worked on and saved with the shape file, as they have different characteristics.

Texture Variation
Cut and Sew is designed to be used with coloured yarn to define the outline of the shape pieces. However,
it can be adapted to use only one yarn colour throughout and for texture stitches to mark the outlines
instead of colours. This will work for Fair Isle, Intarsia and the Right / Wrong side facing texture methods
where Smart Symbols are used.
The shape of the garment piece needs to be outlined in stitches that contrast with the main body of knitting,
instead of a contrasting colour. For example, Purl stitches could outline a Knit garment piece that contains
texture patterning with lace, tuck or weave symbols. Bearing in mind that there can only be two Smart
Symbols in any one row (except for Intarsia) for machine knitting, Smart Symbols dictate needle selection
and one of these has to be used for marking the Cut and Sew shape, it is generally much easier to use the
coloured yarn method for Cut and Sew.

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Tuck and Slip techniques do not usually give a hard edge to the shape because they cannot be used
across an entire row or stitch column. However, an edge needle can be moved to non-working position to
help define a vertical edge.
As there are no limitations in using symbols for hand knitting, any one symbol may be used to mark the
outside of the stitch pattern, which may be filled with intricate patterns. For garter stitch patterns, the Pencil
or Line tool could be used to draw a single or double line of contrast stitches around the edge of a piece.
If the stitch pattern still does not give a sufficiently clear cutting outline, (parts of) the garment shape could
be printed at full size (See on page 379) and physically laid over the fabric at cutting time.

The stitch pattern that is shown on the left contains one colour and
its texture is created by Knit (blanks) and Purl (dots) stitches. The
Grid lines are hidden.

This pattern will be applied to the back of a

baby cardigan that was created in
Standard Garment Styling (see immedi-
ately to the left). The aim is to have
contrasting stitches outside the actual
'shape' in the fabric, so that the cutting line is clearly marked after
the fabric has been knitted.
As a texture outline cannot be chosen directly in the Cut and Sew
options, a contrasting colour needs to be used to start with, in order
to identify the stitches that need to form the contrast. Three colours
happen to be available on the yarn palette in this example, of which one is used in the pattern and one of
the others will be used to start marking the Cut and Sew outline.
The process is described and illustrated below.

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The stitch pattern, as shown above, is opened on

the workspace, after which the required shape file is
opened through Shapes / Thumbnails. The 'Back'
piece of the garment is selected and positioned
over the stitch pattern background, as shown on the
left (A).
The way in which the garment piece is laid out over
the stitch pattern shows that the Purl stitch will
provide the best contrast, as most of the stitches
along the outline are Knit. Cut and Sew is accessed
and the options are set to use the default colour, Fill
outside and a border of "0". These settings ensure
that all structure stitches will disappear from the
outside, which is filled with a darker blue, as can be
seen in image (B). As the border is set to "0", only
the neckline and shoulder areas stand out. The
stitch pattern will show as "Untitled" at this point and
can be saved in its own right.

The process is completed by replacing the

contrast colour by clicking the LMB on the Purl
stitch, the RMB on the darker blue, then clicking the
"Replace" button at the top of the palette, or using
Palettes / Replace (See page 230). This results in
image (C) where the darker blue is replaced by Purl
stitches on the light blue background.
Finally, when the shape file is closed, the piece outline (shown here in pink) will disappear, showing the
complete stitch pattern in which the shape is outlined by Purl stitches (D). The pattern is then ready to be
saved and knitted in Interactive Knitting as a stitch pattern.

Although the process can be done for Fair Isle

patterns with bands of colour and texture, the
result is a lot less clear than for patterns where
there is only one colour in the pattern, as can be
seen in the example on the left. A Fair Isle pattern
was used with one or two colours per row in
addition to using Purl (dots) and a few Tuck (see
red arrows) stitches. Part of the palette is shown
underneath the stitch pattern.
Image (A) shows how the garment piece is
positioned against the stitch pattern background.
Image (B) is the result of setting the Cut and Sew
options to use LMB (+RMB) colour, Fill outside
and a border of "2" in order to clearly show what
happens later in the process.
When purple is replaced by Purl stitches, as they
would provide the best contrast with the mainly Knit pattern, the outline is still reasonably clear as can be
seen in image (C). The colours on the edges are the main colours of the Fair Isle bands, so that pink and
light blue alternate (see blue arrows).

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Once the shape itself is closed, the pink outline disappears and the Purl stitches outline becomes a lot less
clear as can be seen in image (D).

Alternatively, the Shapes / AutoChart menu option could be used to surround the shape with
'no-stitch' symbols. Replacing the no-stitch symbol with Knit stitches by clicking LMB on the
Knit and RMB on the no-stitch symbol, then clicking the "Replace" button, or Palettes /
Replace, quickly achieves the same result.

AutoChart
Create 200
Add shaping 202
Split in sections 204

AutoChart is the first step of producing meaningful knitting instructions for hand knitting. Much like Cut and
Sew it results in an independent stitch pattern which can be edited and embellished after which the printed
instructions can be accessed through the File / Print / Pattern text menu option, instead of Shapes / Print
Shapes. The AutoChart stitch pattern does not need to be integrated with the shape file it is derived from
as, after creating, it stands on its own.
The Shapes / AutoChart menu option is used to fill all areas of the stitch pattern that fall outside of the
actual shape with no-stitch symbols (See page 263) and adds one row of 'no-stitch' symbols at the top of
the shape piece. Two rows may be added to the top if the method is Jacquard, as this method requires the
stitch pattern to have an even number of rows.No-stitch symbols are not taken into account when printing
knitting instructions in the Pattern Text format, which means that an instruction line omits instructions to
decrease or increase, instead just giving the number of stitches which are to be knitted. However, no-stitch
symbols are shown when File / Print / Stitch pat symbols is used with the option to show the stitch repres-
entation as "Stitch symbols" and not "Yarn colour symbols".
Colour information is printed for all colours that are inside the stitch pattern, provided Yarn Symbols are
allocated to all of them and "Yarn colour symbols", rather than "Stitch symbols" is chosen in the stitch
representation. Knitting instructions are printed for all stitches, except those with a 'Turn', 'End of row' or
'no-stitch' symbol. All stitches to the left of the symbol that marks a turning point on a row that is knitted from
right to left are excluded from the knitting instructions. All stitches to the right of the symbol that marks a
turning point on a row that is knitted from left to right are also excluded.
AutoChart can also be used by machine knitters to quickly achieve a textured outside fill for a Cut and Sew
shape (See on page 196) by replacing the no-stitch symbols that are generated by Knit or Purl stitches.

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Create

An AutoChart stitch pattern is

created by first opening the desired
stitch pattern, then the shape file
piece that it is to be based on.

It is important to position the

garment piece correctly over the
stitch pattern at this point.

As soon as Shapes / AutoChart is

clicked, the "Select pattern pieces"
dialogue, as shown on the left, is
presented and one of the pieces
can be chosen. Selecting a piece
and clicking "OK" results in the
pattern repeats being merged into one to fit the selected garment piece. The garment piece can no longer
be repositioned at this point. The currently opened stitch pattern will be used, regardless of any stitch
pattern that may be indicated in the "Select pattern pieces" list.
All stitch cells outside the selected shape are filled with 'no-stitch' symbols in the RMB yarn colour, and one
or two 'no-stitch' rows are added at the top of the garment piece, depending on whether the piece has a
Jacquard method, so that the final cast off symbols can be placed there. The name of the stitch pattern in
the title bar will have changed to untitled.stp and the pattern will need to be saved with a meaningful name.
For the images below, the DesignaKnit bow.stp stitch pattern was used together with a front piece of a
jumper with shaping at the sides and sloped shoulders. After both files are open and Shapes / AutoChart is
clicked, the relevant piece from the shape file was selected. Once the shape (garment piece) is positioned
correctly, AutoChart applied and the resulting stitch pattern named appropriately, the shape file can be
closed as it is now irrelevant to the rest of the proceedings.

In image (1) above both files are open and the shape is positioned correctly over the stitch pattern. The
stitch pattern measures 40 stitches by 40 rows and boundary lines separate the repeats. Image (2) depicts
the AutoChart stitch pattern after Shapes / AutoChart was applied. The boundary lines have disappeared
as the separate stitch pattern and shape have been merged into one stitch pattern repeat with a size of 186
stitches by 240 rows (see red oval in image below). The area surrounding the 'shape' looks black because
of the zoom level. When zoomed in, as in image (3) the no-stitch symbols become visible. The green
outline of the shape has disappeared in image (3) because the shape file was closed at that point.
Image (1a) above shows the palette as it was at the time of opening both files while the palette that is
shown in image (1b) includes all the shaping symbols that DesignaKnit has added on accessing Shapes /
AutoChart.

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During the AutoChart process, as two files are effectively merged into one, the files have to be named
carefully to avoid confusion at a future time, as shown in an example below. It may be prudent to include
'AutoChart' in the resulting stitch pattern file name to distinguish it easily from normal stitch patterns.

Line (1) on
the left
shows the
name of the
stitch
pattern
(bow.stp) as
well as the name of the garment piece of the shape file (AutochartDemoShapeSloped.shp) as they are
open on the workspace. When Shapes / AutoChart is clicked, the name in the title bar will change to
"Untitled" as shown in line (2) until the pattern is saved with its own name, as displayed in line (3). At that
point, the shape file is still open and its name is still displayed. As the shape file no longer serves a purpose
it can be closed and the AutoChart stitch pattern is saved in its own right, after which the title bar only
displays its name, size and method of knitting (4).
As AutoChart applies only to hand knitting, the method of knitting may need to be changed from a machine
method to hand knitting, as demonstrated in the image above where the original 3 colour Jacquard (see
blue arrow) was changed to Hand Knit (see purple arrow).

Yarn Symbols need to be allocated to each colour that is used in the stitch pattern,
otherwise this may result in an error message and printed instructions will be limited
to Knit and Purl, as shown on the left.

In the example below, the Yarn Symbols (See page 242) are numbers "0", "1" and "2", which are associ-
ated with the yarn names "White", "Lime" and "Salmon" (See page 228).

Once AutoChart has been used to

produce and save the stitch pattern, it
needs to be amended to produce
meaningful instructions when printing
Pattern text (See page 69) from the File /
Print menu.
In a shape file, DesignaKnit would
produce shaping information, telling the
user when to hold stitches, increase or
decrease, but a stitch pattern is in fact a
rectangular piece of fabric, without
shaping.
If no-stitch symbols are the only symbols
in the AutoChart stitch pattern and no
further amendments are needed, the
Pattern text will be similar to the image on
the left.
The no-stitch symbol is not present in the
chart, as it does not generate any knitting instructions. In fact, at this point there are no instructions how to

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get from 182 to 180 stitches. The only information given at this point is that 182 stitches are knitted up to
and including row 15, after which there are 180 stitches (see blue arrows).

In order to produce meaningful instructions, various shaping stitch symbols need to be added to the
AutoChart stitch pattern.

Add shaping
Shaping instructions are added by using stitch symbols with relevant abbreviations and instructions, some
of which have automatically been added to the palette on accessing Shapes / AutoChart. Different abbre-
viations and descriptions can be added in Text Editor (See page 295), after which the stitch pattern can be
saved to preserve these settings.

The shaping of a garment piece can be viewed in Original Pattern Drafting as stitches and rows by
clicking the relevant button in the Top Toolbar or by selecting Edit / View Stitch Outline in the menu
options. This viewing option can be helpful in amending the shape before using the Stitch Designer
AutoChart option and to decide the optimal placement of the various shaping symbols.

As soon as AutoChart is clicked, DesignaKnit adds shaping

symbols to the "Yarns + Stitch symbols" palette, as shown on the
left, facilitating the addition of shaping instructions. Other
symbols, such as symbols for Turns (See page 265) or Multi-
stitch procedures (See page 268) may be added if desired.
When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be
hovered over the image. Where the cursor changes to a hand it
can be clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant
section.
All KnitWrite© symbols have been described in detail in the KnitWrite© (See page 251) chapter and only a
brief description has been given below.

The 'no-stitch' symbol carries no abbreviation, as it only serves to omit instructions for the stitches
that have this symbol. This means that, even though the stitch pattern could be 186 stitches wide, if there
are two no-stitch symbols on both sides of it, DesignaKnit will instruct to knit 182 stitches. If, through
decreasing in the shaping, a further two stitches on either side carry the no-stitch symbol, these will also be
omitted and DesignaKnit would instruct to knit 178 stitches, not specifying why or how.

Text Editor (See page 295)

can be used to change the
abbreviations and descrip-
tions where needed. An
example of an amended
Palette and its accom-
panying Text Editor proper-
ties is shown here. The
amended instructions are
saved with the stitch pattern.
In this example, the straight
bracket that will be encountered in the knitting instructions was changed to accommodate the AutoChart

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pattern. These brackets do not have default abbreviations. It is best to use more than one letter in order for
the ensuing instructions to be clear.
Increase, decrease, cast off, pick up symbols, turns and pairs of brackets can all be inserted into the stitch
pattern to arrive at meaningful knitting instructions at the knitting (or Interactive Knitting) stage.

Once all relevant symbols have been added to the palette and their abbreviations and
instructions amended, it may be useful to save this palette to be used specifically with
AutoChart stitch patterns (See page 299).

There are several steps to the AutoChart process. These will be demonstrated in turn by using a small ficti-
tious hand knit garment piece with a neckline that requires decreases. The piece also needs to be knitted in
two sections for the shoulder parts either side of the neck, holding one section while the other is worked on.
The shape file that the AutoChart stitch pattern was based on is closed by clicking on the relevant button in
the Top Toolbar or by sing the Shapes / Close Shape File menu option. The 'Grid' can be turned off at this
point.

A stitch pattern is opened and the required

shape file piece positioned over it, as
shown in the first image. The middle image
shows the result of clicking Shapes /
AutoChart. The stitch pattern has now been
limited to the measurements of the shape,
the space of neckline and sloping shoulders
has been filled with no-stitch symbols and
two rows of no-stitch symbols have been
added at the top. In the third image above a
colour has been combined with the no-stitch symbol to distinguish more clearly between the shape and
surrounding area. In this case green was chosen as it is not dominant in the stitch pattern, but as it is a
hand knit procedure, a different contrasting colour might have been added to the palette and used.
Combining is done by clicking the RMB on the symbol, the LMB on the colour, then the "Combine" button
(See page 228).

The next step is to add the

necessary shaping symbols
to the garment piece in the
correct places. E.g., if
decreases need to take
place at the edge of the
garment, that is where the
symbols should be placed,
but they can also be placed
inside the shape (internal
decreases) so that the
edges stays smooth. In this
example internal decreasing
around the neckline was
achieved by using the Pencil tool and adding left and right slanting decrease symbols on the lines where
they should take place (see blue arrows). The no-stitch symbols visually indicate how many decreases

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need to be added, which in this case is one in every affected row at each side of the neck opening.
Zooming in and switching on the Grid will help in placing the symbols accurately.
Cast off symbols need to be added next. They are placed along the top of the garment piece, the shoulder
slopes and the bottom of the neckline in the no-stitch area (see pink arrows), after which the colour is
changed to the actual yarn colour that is used to cast off (see red arrows), which can be achieved by using
the 'combine' function of the palette to combine the cast off symbol with the most prevalent colour and
using the Pencil tool to add the other colours to the individual stitches that need them (see red circle).
Any other shaping instructions can be added in the same way if required, using the no-stitch symbols as a
guide to see how many decreases or increases are needed and where.
If "Pattern text" were printed after saving the stitch pattern at this stage, the instructions would continue
from one shoulder to the next, as if there were no neck opening, as the section to be held has not been
identified yet.
The knitting instructions for the row where the neckline starts would read something like: K22, Coff 9, K21
and on the next row: P18, SP-PSSO, P2, PSPSSO, P19, meaning to knit 22 stitches, cast off 9 and knit 21,
then on the next row purl 18 stitches, decrease one, purl 2, decrease another and purl to the end of the row.
This completely ignores the fact that, from the cast off row onwards, there are two sections to contend with.
This happens because the no-stitch symbols are ignored in the knitting instructions.

Split in sections
The stitch pattern needs to be worked on further to achieve instructions for knitting in two sections. To do
this, the pattern needs to be split in two: the main part with one shoulder, and the other shoulder to follow
on after the first one is knitted. The two sections need to be positioned in the same stitch pattern so that the
instructions follow on from each other. Bracket and pick up symbols are used for this purpose. The bracket
symbols indicate a multi-stitch procedure, which consists of placing all stitches on a holding needle in this
case. The pick up symbol is used to indicate picking up the held stitches.

In effect the shoulder that is to be knitted as a separate section needs to be

moved from where it is to above the main stitch pattern. Preparation for this
can be done in a couple ways, one of which is to repeat the pattern,
redefining it so the two repeats are merged into one, then editing the top
area to contain the no-stitch symbols combined with the same contrast
colour as in the 'main' (lower) part.

The first step is to click on the bottom "+" of the "Repeats" button on the
Left Toolbar. This will add one repeat to the workspace.

Clicking the "Redefine" button merges the two repeats into one. After
clicking the tagged selection box button on the Top Toolbar, the selection
box needs to be resized and dragged (see blue circle) to cover the entire top
'repeat'. The image shows the dragging arrow.

The entire top half of the redefined stitch pattern needs to be

cleared and filled with no-stitch symbols. One way to achieve this
is to use Edit / Clear Yarn colours and Edit / Clear Stitch symbols
when the selection box is present. This will fill the area with the
current RMB colour and main stitch symbol. Alternatively,
pressing the "Del" button on the keyboard will clear the contents of
the selection box, replacing them with the RMB colour. By clicking the no-
stitch symbol on the palette to activate it and the flood fill button on the Left Toolbar, followed by clicking in

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the tagged selection box, the area will be filled with no-stitch symbols. The Flood fill button should be
clicked again to deactivate it. If the contrast colour is not already shown it can be combined with the no-
stitch symbol, by clicking the LMB on the symbol, the RMB on the colour, then clicking the "Combine"
button. The result is as shown in the small image above. Any surplus rows can later be removed by clicking
the "-" button on the Left Toolbar, then clicking holding and dragging over the rows in the stitch pattern to be
removed with the LMB.

Instead of using the 'Redefine' option to

add space at the top of the stitch pattern, the
"Insert rows" button on the Left Toolbar may
be used. In this example there was one row
of no-stitch symbols at the top (combined
with the contrast colour). This row was
repeated to fill the required area. Clicking the
"+" button, then clicking and holding and
dragging the LMB down from the top of the pattern, will insert rows in whichever colour or symbol is associ-
ated with the RMB. The area that is created in this way will need to be filled with no-stitch symbols.
If the "Shift" key is held down while inserting rows, they will be a copy of the rows that are covered (See on
page 87). If there is one row at the top with the correct settings, one row can be added, using the "Shift"
key. The process can then be repeated with the two resulting rows, then four, then eight, until a suitable
number of rows is present to contain one shoulder part above the main stitch pattern. The button needs to
be clicked again to deactivate it.

Once enough space has been created at the top of the

stitch pattern the 'second section' can be enclosed in a
selection box and dragged to above the main section.
The selection box can be tagged or untagged. If it is
tagged, care should be taken not to move it by clicking on
the middle handle, but clicking and holding in any other
part of the box instead.

All colours and stitch symbols need to be opaque to be

moved with this action.

The area left behind by moving the selection box will be

filled with the main background stitch and either a transparent colour that may be present in the same row
or the RMB colour. After moving is complete, the area that is left behind can be enclosed in a different selec-
tion box and filled with both the no-stitch symbol and, if necessary, the correct colour.
The second section should be moved to just above the first, leaving one row in which to place pick up
symbols, so that the knitting instructions follow on from one to the next. If the selection box is the same
height as the shoulder section, and includes one row of no-stitch symbols at the top, it is easy to see where
to drag the section to, as the outline of the selection box stays in the same place and the section can be
dragged to rest on top of it, as shown in the image above. Surplus rows can then be deleted by using the
"Delete: delete some rows..." button on the Left Toolbar and selecting the relevant rows (See page 87).
The next step is to deal with any stitch symbols that may need adjusting, such as deleting irrelevant
shaping symbols, adding cast off symbols, adding pick up symbols and multi-stitch procedure brackets.

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Pick up symbols (See page 276) can

be placed at the bottom of the second section
(see red arrow) and the correct yarn colour can
be applied to them, as has been done in the
image to the left.

Bracket symbols (See on page 268)

can be added in the relevant places to indicate
that the stitches enclosed by them need to be put
on a holding needle (see blue arrows). As the
brackets do not carry abbreviations by default
they will need to be added by using the Text
Editor (See page 295). Bearing in mind that only the first instruction that is encountered is read, abbre-
viations and instructions need to be added to the relevant symbol. The DesignaKnit default instruction is
generic and may not be pertinent, but can be changed to any required text.
When "Pattern text" is accessed, after saving the AutoChart stitch pattern, the different rows will carry the
correct instructions for knitting, as can be seen by the snippets of text shown below, which were taken from
the complete "Pattern text" instructions.

At the top, the relevant bracket symbol is shown,

together with its abbreviation "Hold" and instruction
"Hold 21 stitches". The instruction is freely editable in
the Text Editor (See page 295), and can contain any
text.

DesignaKnit cannot know

how many stitches are
involved in a particular
multi-stitch procedure. To
avoid counting and
rechecking at knitting time,
it can be useful to edit the
instruction to include the
number of stitches that are to be held. This number can easily be found without counting the grid cells by
hovering the cursor over the stitch that contains the bracket (see cursor arrow in the image). The mouse
pointer window displays the number of the stitches from the left and right, so it is simply a matter of picking
the correct one and deducting 1, as the mouse pointer overlaps one stitch in the middle (See on page 18).
If the symbols are only saved with the current stitch pattern, which is the usual behaviour of applying the
changes in the Text Editor, these instructions can be specific. If, on the other hand, the symbols file is to be
saved for later use with different stitch patterns (See page 299), it is better to keep the instructions generic.
Stitches need to be held at Row 61, as indicated by "Hold", which, in this case means to "Hold 21 stitches",
after which 9 stitches need to be cast off and 21 stitches worked in Knit. The Yarn colour is "0" (white in this
example).
Further down in the instructions, when the first section is finished, this is indicated by the "Coff" (cast off)
instruction to cast off 5 stitches on Row 79. In the next row, the 21 stitches that were previously held need
to be picked up (PUP 21), after which the knitting instructions are resumed and tell the user to Knit 19
stitches, decrease one, then Knit another in the yarn colour sequence of 6 stitches in "0" (white), 1 stitch in

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"2" (salmon) and 14 stitches in "0" (white). DesignaKnit carries on with the numbering of rows, and this
reflects the flow of the stitch pattern.

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Examples of Using Stitch Patterns

Basic 208
Single Border 210
Adding complexity 211
Stitch cable 216
Fantasy blanket 217
Embroidery 221

Once stitch patterns have been created they can be applied and integrated in different ways. In Original
Pattern Drafting stitch patterns can be integrated with garment pieces, positioned and saved. It is easy to
integrate a different stitch pattern with each garment piece and all pieces can be viewed on the workspace
at the same time with their different patterns. In Stitch Designer, garment pieces can be positioned over the
currently open stitch pattern. Although different garment pieces can be integrated with different stitch
patterns, only the current stitch pattern can be viewed on the workspace. Where only one stitch pattern is
used for the entire garment (shape file) it is easy to fit the pieces to it by moving them over the stitch
pattern. Where different stitch patterns are required for some or all of the pieces of a garment, each stitch
pattern that is involved can be opened, the garment piece opened, positioned correctly and integrated,
after which the entire garment can be viewed in Original Pattern Drafting, if needed.
A few examples have been worked out from start to finish in this chapter, providing useful hints, tips and
alternatives where possible. It may be useful to follow one or some of these in order to get a good idea of
the process.

Basic
The simplest way to integrate a stitch pattern with a garment piece is to open a shape file (See on
page 179), select the garment pieces, position them over the stitch pattern (See on page 182) and save
both stitch pattern and shape file (See on page 63). The garment pieces that are involved with the same
stitch pattern can be viewed on the workspace.
In the image below the different views are shown. In Stitch Designer, only the garment pieces that are in
fact integrated with the open stitch pattern have been viewed. If any of the other garment pieces had been
selected, they would have been associated with this stitch pattern instead of the ones that are shown in
Shapes / Integrate dialogue. In Original Pattern Drafting all garment pieces are shown with the stitch
patterns that are integrated.

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In the images below, a baby cardigan has been integrated with a snowflake stitch pattern in two different
ways and is shown on the Stitch Designer workspace. The back has snowflakes all over, the front pieces
have a border of snowflakes and the sleeves will be knitted plain. To achieve this variety, the back garment
piece was integrated with the snowflake stitch pattern in the normal way, saving the shape file so that the
integration information stays with it.
A second stitch pattern, based on the same snowflake pattern, needs to be created for the front panels.
This new stitch pattern needs sufficient height to cover the panels without repetition. The required number
of rows can be determined by accessing the View / Piece Sizes menu option. The resulting "Pattern Piece
Sizes" window displays the information and after making a note of the number of required rows, the shape
file can be closed and File / New Pattern Setup accessed (See on page 53). Setting the size manually to
the garment piece requirements and using the same palette, the snowflake stitch pattern was imported as
a horizontal border, manipulated until the result was pleasing and saved as a separate stitch pattern.
Opening the baby cardigan shape file, both front panels of the shape file were selected and positioned over
the new stitch pattern. Saving the shape file will save this new information with these garment pieces.

The pieces and their respective stitch patterns are shown here together with the "Integrate" window,
detailing that a different stitch pattern has been integrated with the different pieces. The images of the front
and back pieces cannot be shown together on the Stitch Designer workspace, as only one stitch pattern
can be worked with and thus displayed. More information about Integration can be found in the Integrate
(See page 440) chapter.

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Single Border
DesignaKnit uses stitch pattern files (.stp) to repeat all over the garment piece that it is integrated with. This
works beautifully where an all over patterned fabric is required of the stitch pattern. However, if a stitch
pattern is required to appear only over part of a garment piece, such as is the case with a border around the
sleeves or front and back, this has to be facilitated.
The stitch pattern needs to be the correct size to warrant only one repeat in the direction that is required. If
a border is needed along the front and back, the stitch pattern needs to contain enough rows, so it is not
repeated vertically within the garment piece. This can be achieved most easily by creating the stitch pattern
to the size of the garment piece it is intended for (See page 54). The number of horizontal repeats can be
influenced by placing a border and spacing the individual elements or by placing single instances of the
stitch pattern and adding as many 'empty' stitch columns as needed.
If the same border of a stitch pattern is to be integrated with different garment pieces, this can easily be
achieved by creating the stitch pattern in such a way that it is large enough, so it will not repeat vertically.
In the example below, a new stitch pattern was created, with the correct settings (method of knitting), the
size was set from an existing garment piece, after which an existing stitch pattern was imported as a
horizontal border (See on page 140), flipping the pattern horizontally and / or vertically by using the "Ctrl"
and "Tab" keys. The stitch pattern can be spaced out if needed (See page 141) and the border is accepted
on to the workspace by clicking outside of it or pressing the Enter key.

If the result is not quite as expected, the border can easily be deleted by using the Edit /
Clear Yarn Colours menu option, making sure the RMB is set to the correct background
colour.

The stitch pattern can now be saved and the other pieces brought onto the workspace to be positioned. If
pieces of a shape file have been positioned on any stitch pattern in the past, it is possible that they will
overlap. If this is not intended, the Shapes / Integrate menu option can be accessed, all the pieces uninteg-
rated by clicking the red "x" to the right of the garment piece and returning to the workspace by clicking
"OK". Subsequently clicking on the "Display all Pieces" button will arrange all the garment pieces side by
side across the stitch pattern. They can then be moved by clicking the "Move Pieces" button (See on
page 182).

In the image on the left, the pieces have

been positioned so that the border will end
up on a different part of the garment
pieces. As the pieces are moved, a second
border appears because the garment
pieces straddle pattern repeats. This is
shown by ticking the View / Boundary
menu option, displaying pink lines in this
case.
Any pieces with which this stitch pattern
needs to be integrated can be lined up to
their correct position. Pieces may overlap,
which can be a good idea if the pattern
needs to be in exactly the same position.
This may be the case if sleeves, or front
and back need the pattern to start at the exact same position.

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Where only a single instance of the stitch pattern is required, such as a name or logo across a part of the
garment, a single motif can be imported (See on page 138), making sure the stitch pattern is large enough
not to repeat over the garment piece it is intended for.

Adding complexity
If each garment piece needs a different stitch pattern, placed in different ways, the process becomes a bit
more involved, and has been described here in detail with different options to illustrate different scenarios
and some challenges that might happen during the process.
A four colour Jacquard stitch pattern is created and manipulated in several ways to demonstrate how it can
be used to decorate garment pieces in different and versatile ways. Although this example has been
described for machine knitting, most of the options also apply to a hand knitted garment piece.

The workspace (as shown on the left) was prepared

by selecting the Brother KH965 knitting machine
and 4 colour Jacquard knitting method from the
default DesignaKnit pattern (40 stitches x 40 rows,
light blue background colour). When selecting 4
colour Jacquard, DesignaKnit presents a warning
message ("knitting method 4 is inappropriate")
which can safely be ignored by clicking "OK"
because only one colour is indeed present at this
point.
A previously saved palette was imported (See on
page 249), removing unused colours from the default palette, leaving only the colours of the imported
palette. Further colours were added and existing ones edited to suit the intended design. Instead of
importing a palette, the current one could have been amended by deleting, adding and editing colours. As
this is a Jacquard stitch pattern, all stitch symbols except Knit and Purl were removed. Once the palette is
as required, with the desired transparent background colour and all the drawing colours made opaque if
necessary, it is saved separately as a palette file by using the Palettes / Export menu option (See on
page 247).
At this point, with all the basic conditions in place and before drawing starts, it is useful to save the stitch
pattern so it can be retrieved easily. As there is still only one colour in use on the workspace, the "inappro-
priate knitting method" error will appear on saving, but can be ignored.
If, during drawing the stitch pattern, the option in the Check (See page 59) menu is ticked to check that the
maximum number of yarn colours in a row does not exceed 4, the pattern will show up any errors immedi-
ately, making it easy to keep within the constraints of four colour Jacquard.
Using pencil, brush and circle tools with the palette colours, the design shown below was drawn. Surplus
rows and stitch columns were deleted until the pattern only comprised the motif with an even number of
rows, as is necessary for Jacquard. Colours that are to be transferred by using "Copy" or "Import" actions
need to be opaque, which can be achieved either by making them opaque in the motif, or by clicking the
right hand daisy button when this appears underneath the Left Toolbar when the motif is imported or
pasted (See page 74).

It is useful to create all the versions of the stitch pattern that will be used with garment pieces
before integrating them in various arrangements and to give them names that easily identify
them as belonging together.

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In this exercise, the initial stitch pattern was also enlarged (Modify / Rescale), modified and saved again, so
that more stitches and rows are needed to knit it. This results in smoother lines and a larger pattern. In
addition part of the stitch pattern was saved as a swirl motif.

From left to right, the images above show:

1. The initial stitch pattern measuring 17 stitches by 28 rows, created by using various Drawing Tools
(See page 92).
2. A sample of this pattern, showing 3 repeats across and 2 down in fabric texture view to gain an idea
of the knitted result.
3. The same stitch pattern, resized (See on page 164) to measure 27 stitches by 44 rows and edited to
replace light green by the light blue background colour (See page 230).
4. The swirl pattern, which was achieved by drawing a selection box around the centre part of the main
pattern, flipping it by using Modify / Flip / Horizontally, then exporting it as a Motif by using the Edit /
Export / Motif menu option (See on page 137). This saves the motif as a separate stitch pattern
without leaving the current one. Once done, "Undo" can be used to undo the flip action for the main
stitch pattern.

As can be seen in the palette that is shown above image (4) only pink and dark green are
opaque. The transparent colours will not be imported or pasted into another stitch pattern unless the right
hand daisy button is clicked which will include both transparent and opaque colours. The daisy buttons will
appear below the Left Toolbar when "Copy" or "Import" actions are taken.
Saving the pattern in more than one version allows it to be used in different ways, while keeping a certain
consistency in the knitted results. As the same palette is used in all the versions, there is much less chance
of adding to the colours unintentionally, making it easier to keep the design restricted to the intended 4
colour Jacquard throughout.
Once the patterns are created they can be used to decorate different garment pieces. The object of this
exercise is to place a border of the larger stitch pattern across the front and back of a jumper, interspersing
it on the front with the smaller motif that was exported and placing two borders of the smaller pattern
around the sleeves.

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From scratch, or with one of the newly

created stitch patterns still on the workspace,
File / New Pattern Setup needs to be
accessed, and the options set one by one. In
the image on the left, all options are set as
they need to be in order to proceed with the
exercise. The ovals indicate the settings and
the arrows where to click to change them if
necessary. For a detailed description of all the
steps in setting up a new pattern (See page
53).
The "Knitting method" needs to be checked,
and if necessary altered by clicking "Change
knitting method" so it reflects the correct
settings, which are the Brother KH965 knitting
machine and 4 colour Jacquard in this case.
As the new stitch pattern needs to result in
only one repeat, it is easiest if its size is based
on the garment piece that it will be placed on,
so the correct shape file needs to be selected with the correct garment piece therein. If the correct shape
file is already active, as may be the case if it was accessed through one of the Shapes options (See on
page 179), only the garment piece to be worked with will need to be selected by clicking on the drop down
list (see blue oval). Otherwise both shape file and garment piece need to be selected by clicking on the 'File
open' button (see blue arrow).
If the stitch pattern with the correct palette is on the workspace, "current palette" can be ticked, otherwise
the correct palette, which was saved earlier, needs to be selected by navigating to it after clicking on the
'File open' button (see purple arrows).
As this is a Jacquard pattern and stitch symbols are not used, the "Show Advanced" button can be ignored.

When "OK" is clicked, DesignaKnit presents the Tension dialogue in

which tensions can be set as needed (See on page 420). Once
accepted, the resulting stitch pattern is placed on the workspace.
In the image on the left, the shape of the garment piece is outlined
against the RMB background colour. For clarity of viewing, both grid and
fabric texture views were switched off and the palette was dragged onto
the shape.
The properties of the stitch pattern as it is at this stage are shown in the
white superimposed box. These properties appear in one line in the title
bar above the pattern and give valuable information. First of all, this is a
new stitch pattern that has not been saved yet (untitled.stp). It measures
162 stitches by 220 rows, which is the size of the front of the jumper. The
knitting machine is a Brother KH965 and knitting method (-4 after the
size) is 4 colour Jacquard. The tension is 32 x 40. The name of the shape
file that is currently used, together with the garment piece are also
shown.
If light blue is not the desired main colour for the jumper to be knitted, it can be changed easily by accessing
"Yarn Colour Setup" on the palette (See on page 234), clicking on the light blue colour so it has a dotted

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line around it, changing the colour, clicking "Apply" which will apply it immediately, followed by "OK" to
return to the workspace. For this exercise, light blue was changed to mid blue.
All is now in place for the previously saved stitch patterns to be integrated in different ways. It is a good idea
to save the "Untitled" stitch pattern at this point, so it can easily be retrieved in case of errors, unwanted
results or for modifying it at a later stage. DesignaKnit will warn that the pattern only has one colour instead
of the four required by the chosen method, but this can be ignored at this time.
Edit / Import / Horizontal Border will present the Thumbnails "Open Stitch Pattern" window from which a
stitch pattern needs to be chosen, which was the larger one in this case, image (3) above. This is then
placed within a tagged selection box as a horizontal border along the bottom of the stitch pattern as can be
seen in image (1) below. The border can be dragged to a different position by clicking, holding and
dragging the middle handle, which will change to a four arrow cursor. Clicking, holding and dragging
anywhere in the border (when the cursor changes to a hand symbol) will move the position of the stitch
pattern within the selection box (See on page 140).

As long as the handles are still showing around the selection box, using the Undo button,
Edit / Undo or "Ctrl-Z" will undo all the movements and remove the border from the
workspace. "Redo" will place the empty selection box back where it was.

The individual patterns within the border can be spaced out or moved closer together relative to each other
in the selection box until the desired result is achieved, by dragging the double arrows. As soon as the
cursor is clicked outside the selection box, the border is fixed into position. It can still be moved by using the
"Shuffle" button on the Left Toolbar (See on page 83) and edited by using other drawing tools, but it can no
longer be manipulated as a border.
Once the pattern is fixed, another border, single motif or tiled pattern can be imported to be superimposed.
For this exercise, the single 'Swirl' motif was imported and placed between the elements of the previously
imported and spaced out border. When a single motif is imported into a selection box it can be moved
inside the selection box if room permits. As soon as the cursor is clicked outside of the box or the Enter or a
keyboard arrow key is pressed, the motif is fixed on to the workspace, with or without a selection box
surrounding it. If it is imported without a selection box, the motif appears in the top left hand corner of the
stitch pattern. From there it can be picked up by the mouse and dragged to its destination. The motif can be
flipped horizontally and / or vertically by using the "Ctrl" and "Tab" keys. If the "Shift" key is pressed a copy
is 'stamped' and the motif can be moved along and stamped as many times as needed. Once the mouse is
clicked outside the motif it is fixed into place. The result of these actions are shown in image (2).

Both stitch pattern and shape file need to be saved in order for all the changes to be applied. The stitch
pattern should be saved through File / Save (As), and the shape file through Shapes / Save Shape (As).

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Stitch patterns are separate from the shape file, and can be integrated with other shape files and other
garment pieces. The shape file needs to be saved with the correct stitch pattern and garment piece associ-
ated with each other. This can be seen (and amended) in Shapes / Integrate (See on page 440).
The stitch pattern that is open on the workspace is automatically associated with the garment piece that is
displayed over it, but for this integration to 'hold' the shape file needs to be saved.
To create the stitch pattern for the "Back" garment piece in image (3) the individual motifs were removed
from the workspace by drawing a selection box around them and, making sure mid blue was the RMB
colour, deleted, leaving mid blue in their place. The "Back" garment piece was then selected through
Shapes / View Piece(s), the 'tulip' stitch pattern was imported as a Single Motif and positioned so that its
colours are separate from the border and do not interfere with the 4 colour Jacquard. Then the stitch
pattern was saved with a different name to differentiate it from the front garment piece stitch pattern. As the
front and back of the jumper are the same size, the same basic stitch pattern was used.
To create yet another stitch pattern for the sleeves, the process was repeated from the start by creating a
new pattern and selecting the sleeve garment piece, because the sleeves are a different size to the back
and front pieces. If "Current palette" is selected, this will include the RMB mid blue colour that was
amended as the background. On using Edit / Import / Horizontal Border the smaller stitch pattern was
chosen this time, making sure the light green colour is made opaque for it to appear on the stitch pattern.
The spacing was kept as DesignaKnit presented, the border moved to the first position and, after pressing
the "Shift" key to stamp a copy, moved to the second position. Pressing the Enter key or clicking outside of
the border fixes it into place as can be seen in image (4) above. The borders do not have to be limited to the
stitch pattern, as the boundaries of the shape will take care of this. Once again, the stitch pattern needs to
be saved with a different name and the shape file needs to be saved with this stitch pattern associated with
both sleeves.

The notes field in Options / Tensions(See page 421) of the shape file can be used to record
which stitch pattern is used for which garment piece, while Edit / Notes(See page 422) of the
stitch pattern can be used to keep a record of which shape file uses this stitch pattern.

When different stitch patterns are used for each garment piece, it can become a bit cumbersome to view
the results in Stitch Designer, as the workspace displays garment pieces against a background of the
current stitch pattern only. Original Pattern Drafting displays all the garment pieces with their individual
stitch patterns and this can be used to gain an overall impression, as can be seen in the image below.

Summary
○ The workspace has to be prepared for designing the stitch pattern elements that are needed, using
the desired palette, background (RMB) colour and size.
○ The palette can be saved to be reused easily with each new configuration.

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○ The empty workspace with palette can be saved as a stitch pattern in order to create a starting point
that can be retrieved easily.
○ Each stitch pattern that is needed can be created, making variations in size, picking out motifs to be
saved etc., saving them with names that are easily identified as belonging together.
○ The shape file (garment) piece that is to be worked with needs to be opened, while the relevant stitch
pattern is open on the workspace, saving both stitch pattern and shape file in order to associate one
correctly with the other.

Stitch cable
A stitch cable is another example where the pattern will need to be repeated selectively. An example has
been worked out where a stitch cable will be repeated three times over a jumper and once over the middle
of the sleeves.
First of all, the stitch cable pattern to be used is designed (See on page 302) and saved, using the desired
colours in the palette. Then, File / New Pattern Setup is accessed and after choosing the knitting machine
and method, the required shape file is selected with the 'Back' garment piece. If the stitch cable pattern was
designed at another time an not currently on the workspace, the safest option when selecting the palette, is
to search for this stitch pattern (.stp) (See page 55). In this way, the colours will be correct. Once "OK" has
been clicked and the Tensions dialogue amended, the back garment piece is displayed on the workspace.
If the result is not as expected or desired, the Edit / Clear Yarn Colours and Edit / Clear Stitch Symbols
menu options can be used to start the import again very quickly and easily.

Edit / Import /
Horizontal
Border places
the cable motif
all along the
bottom of the
new "Untitled"
stitch pattern, as
can be seen in
the first image
on the left. As
only three stitch
cables are
required, the
double arrows (see light blue arrow) were dragged to the right until only three cables are left, spaced out as
needed. The left and right handles (see smaller red arrows) can be dragged to make the border smaller
and allow it to be positioned so that the middle cable will be in the centre of the garment piece.
Then the top handle in the middle of the border (see larger red arrow) was clicked, held and dragged
upwards to cover the entire length of the back, so that the cable will repeat all over the garment piece, as
shown in the second image. As the motif is dragged upwards, double vertical arrows appear between
them, which could be used to space the motif further apart. However, as a cable generally needs to run
continuously and in this case, background colour would appear between each element, these are left as
they are. By the same token, the middle angled double arrow could be used to skew the cable, which would
defeat the object of a neat stitch cable.
The third image shows both back (white arrow) and front (yellow arrow), laid over each other to ensure that
the stitch cables are in the same position on the front and back garment pieces.

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If the sleeve garment piece was laid over the same stitch pattern, the stitch cable would not reach from
bottom to top and it would contain parts of the cables either side of the central one. For those reasons a
second stitch pattern is needed to accommodate one cable only, stretching the length of the sleeve. A new
pattern was started, using File / New Pattern Setup, with all the same settings as before, but selecting one
of the sleeves as the basis.

Once the garment shape is on the workspace, Edit / Import / Horizontal Border was accessed to pull in the
same stitch cable pattern as for the back and front of the jumper. It was placed along the bottom as can be
seen in image (1) above. This time, only one instance of the cable is needed and the handles either side of
the border (see small red arrows) were dragged inwards until only one instance is left. The ruler might be
used to position the cable in the centre of the sleeve, as seen in image (2). Once this is achieved, the
middle top handle (see blue arrow) is clicked, held and dragged up until the instances cover the sleeve
from bottom to top, as shown in image (3). Once the mouse is clicked outside the border or the Enter key is
pressed, the border is fixed to the workspace, the stitch pattern can be saved with a separate name and
both sleeves can be integrated with it by displaying them on the workspace and saving the shape file.
Image (4), finally displays a detail of the knitted result in fabric texture view.

While working with small stitch pattern elements in a border, the Zoom into selection box button
may be useful to enlarge the view while not losing sight of the overall picture.

Fantasy blanket
Combining all the techniques, a little blanket can be created using a stitch pattern large enough to contain
all the elements needed. In this example a hand knitted stitch pattern was created, so there are no limit-
ations to its size, save how many stitches can be held on the needles. Nor are there limitations in using
colours and / or stitch techniques.
The size that was chosen was 200 stitches by 250 rows in order to achieve a knitted square of just over 60
centimetres (just under 25 inches), taking the selected 32 x 40 tension into account. While primarily a hand
knitting example, it can, with adaptations, be worked for a knitting machine, provided the needle bed has
sufficient needled for the 200 stitches. If a Jacquard method is chosen, the stitch symbols should be
removed. There can only be one opaque colour per row for Right / Wrong side facing texture methods.
This stitch pattern does not need to be associated with any garment pieces as it stands on its own and can
be knitted using the Pattern text (See page 69) or Interactive Knitting instructions that are generated.
A "New Pattern Setup" is required in order to set all the conditions for this project. In order to keep things
simple, a previously saved palette was used containing only the stitch symbols that are needed and just a
few colours which are wanted, rather than using the default palette with a lot of colours and stitch symbols.

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The settings are as shown on the left, and

after accepting these and checking the
tensions in the next dialogue, the workspace
is presented with a blank stitch pattern,
showing the RMB colour as its background.

The chosen palette

shows several
colours as well as the
Knit and Purl stitch
symbols, of which
Purl is the
unexpected stitch
(See page 342).
As different stitch
patterns are imported to be used as border
and tile, their colours will be added to the
palette automatically. For this exercise, only
the Knit and Purl stitches are used to create
texture, but more can be added as required.
As the pattern is large, the Zoom (See page 43) functions, with or without a selection box, are used
frequently to check for the correct positioning of the elements of the stitch pattern.
The open Rectangle (See page 103) tool is used to create a border of Purl stitches. As the pattern is large it
is not so easy to draw a rectangle exactly where intended, but the process is made much easier by marking
the corners of it beforehand. This can be done by drawing a selection box in one of the corners, zooming
into this selection box (using the button on the Top Toolbar) and using the pencil tool to dot a patch of
contrasting colour just outside where the rectangle's edges should be. Alternatively a tagged selection box
can be drawn and after zooming in to the corners of the stitch pattern to see exactly where it needs to be, it
can be resized as needed.

In this exercise, a selection box, as shown on the left, was drawn in the top left hand corner of
the pattern. It can then be copied, moved, flipped horizontally (Ctrl) and / or vertically (Tab) and
stamped (Shift) into the other three corners so that the coloured patch (see blue arrow) is in all
the correct places.
Zooming in to the selection box to check that the coloured patches are in the correct place is a good idea as
the pattern is too large to see all the detail when it is zoomed out.

Mark the outside corners of the intended rectangle with temporary patches of colour, then
use Edit / Clear Yarn Colours to apply the RMB background colour after the rectangle is
drawn.

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Once the dots are in place, the pattern can be zoomed out so it is fully in
view and, with the focus switched to Stitch Symbols (Ctrl-Shift), the open
rectangle tool can be selected and a rectangle drawn. This places a
rectangle of one stitch wide on the workspace. More rectangles can be
drawn inside the first one to thicken the contrasting border, as shown in the
image on the left.
The image of the stitch pattern can be zoomed in such a way that it shows
as a square, as it will be when it is knitted. This will give a better idea of the
finished project.
Afterwards, the coloured patches can be deleted as they only served as temporary markers. This is most
easily done at this stage, as there is nothing else on the stitch pattern, by switching back to Colour mode
(Ctrl-Shift), clicking the LMB on lavender in the palette, RMB on fuchsia and clicking the "Replace" button
(See page 230).
Next, a vertical border is imported and one of the Brother proprietary stitch patterns was selected. The
vertical border is resized by dragging the top and bottom handle so that only whole pattern elements are
shown, which are drawn a little closer together to fit the blanket. They are then positioned where desired in
the stitch pattern by dragging the middle handle (See on page 140). Once the border is accepted on the
workspace any of the drawing tools can be used to tweak it as needed. The Brother stitch pattern uses a
grey colour which is duly added to the palette. For this exercise, the grey was replaced by green in the
manner described above, and can be removed from the current palette in order to keep it as uncluttered as
possible.

Next, another pattern is imported as a Tiled motif. For

this, a selection box needs to be drawn, otherwise the
import will cover the entire stitch pattern.
Within the selection box, the tiles can be manipulated
(See on page 142) until all the elements are in their
correct places. After clicking outside the box the import
is fixed in position and can be manipulated further using
palette and drawing tools. The partial elements, such as
are pointed to by the red arrows can be removed by
drawing selection boxes around them and pressing the
delete key, making sure the RMB is focussed on the
lavender background colour. Alternatively, the brush tool
may be used, selecting the size that is required and
loading it with lavender on one of the buttons which is
then used to sweep over the unwanted parts.
If the elements are still not quite in the right place, the Lasso (See page 88) tool may be used to pick up
each butterfly to be moved to the desired location. For this to work, the colour surrounding the butterfly
motif has to be transparent and the motif itself opaque. The same tool can also be used to copy one of the
motifs to a different place, by picking up a butterfly, pressing the "Shift" key to stamp a copy where it is, then
moving the lasso with the motif to a different location and letting go of the mouse.
Next, the pale purple of the butterflies is replaced by a much darker purple by accessing the Yarn Colour
Setup of the palette (See on page 234), selecting the light purple so that it is surrounded by a dotted line
and changing colour and or hue as needed. Clicking "Apply Colour" reflects the choice on the workspace
and "OK" returns to the workspace.
The next thing to be added to the blanket is a name, which is done by using the Lettering (See page 108). It
is a good idea to draw a selection box prior to using the Lettering dialogue, as otherwise the entire stitch

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pattern will be surrounded by a tagged selection box, which will need to be resized if the text is not to
appear all over the work. Making sure the LMB is focussed on the colour that the text needs to be in, the
Lettering tool can be clicked and a name can be entered in any font and size that is desired. In this
example, two Lettering elements were used to demonstrate how variations can be brought into the design.
The first element is the first letter with a fancy font and the second element includes the rest of the name
with a different font and size.
And finally, the area outside the border of Purl stitches can be filled with a contrasting colour by enclosing
everything within the outside border in a selection box, then using Flood Fill (See page 102) to fill the area
outside the selection box with a different colour. The finished result is shown below, with an enlarged detail
in fabric texture view.

Any unused colours can be removed from the palette and the instructions for the fantasy blanket can be
printed or used in Interactive Knitting. For colour changing information to be included in the printed knitting
instructions, all colours need to be given a Yarn symbol in Palettes / Yarn Symbols, and preferably also a
name in Palettes / Colour Names. If Yarn Symbols are assigned after the stitch pattern is created, they will
be displayed on the screen, obscuring the stitch pattern itself. Deselecting View / Yarn Symbols will bring
the stitch pattern back into view.

Because this stitch pattern is complex, involving a lot of colour and stitch symbol changes per row, the
print preview (Stitch pat picture) can take some time to generate, causing DesignaKnit to display '(Not
responding)' in its title bar. However, work is done behind the scenes and the preview (or print) will
appear.

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Embroidery
Although it is not a primary use of DesignaKnit, stitch patterns
could be used to generate instructions for embroidery.
The budgie images that make up this stitch pattern have been
created in DesignaKnit Graphics Studio from a photograph,
and this process has been described in detail in the Desig-
naKnit Graphics Studio manual. Two of the images were then
imported into Stitch Designer and positioned relative to each
other, as shown on the left.

A tagged selection box (See page 73) was used to resize

the stitch pattern to the perfect fit after which the "Redefine"
tool (See page 84) was used to crop the image and save it with
a different name.
The images on the left are of the tagged selection box and the
resulting cropped stitch pattern. All colours were given yarn symbols (See page 242) and Colour names
(See page 228) in the relevant Palettes menu options to prepare for meaningful printouts.

The image on the left depicts a small part of the File /

Print / Stitch pat symbols (See page 387) preview in
which the stitch representation was set to 'Yarn Colour
Symbols', and the Stitch Colour to 'Colour'. The Grid
divisions were set to 'On' in order to divide the printout
into blocks in which it is easier to count the stitches. The
size of the printout can be adjusted to view more or less
on one page, according to what is easiest to see (See
on page 366).
As all yarns have been given symbols and names, the
entire grid is filled with these symbols.

The Stitch pat symbols printout is visually the closest to actual embroidery, so probably the best option
to use.

Alternatively, File / Print / Pattern text (See page 380) produces a text
document with line by line instructions that can be used.
The key to the symbols (Key) that is printed at the top if the option is
selected by clicking on the single spanner in the 'Setup' dialogue and
ticking it, shows both yarn symbols and names. It can also be printed
separately by selecting the File / Print / Key to symbols menu option.

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As this printout is intended

for knitting, some consid-
erations need to be taken
into account if it is to be
used for embroidery. The
instructions start at row 1,
which is at the bottom of the pattern. Each row contains instructions to Knit or Purl (see blue ovals) that can
be ignored, after which the colour symbols will be shown with the number of stitches to use them for in
brackets. The rows are described as going one way, then back as they would be dealt with in knitting, as
depicted by the red arrows.

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Palettes
Description 224
Palette Toolbar 228
Yarn Colour Setup 234
Symbols Organizer Setup 243
Handling palettes 246

Palettes are used to add colour and texture to stitch patterns that can be used to apply to garments. Colour,
Stitch symbols and Cable palettes can all be used to achieve pleasing results. Cable palettes are handled
in a different way to colour and stitch symbol palettes and are described in a different part of the manual
(See on page 302).
When a stitch pattern is saved, the palette that is used to create it is saved with it, so that each stitch pattern
has its own unique palette with all the symbols and colours that are used. Palettes can be customised for
the current pattern on the workspace, but they can also be saved for future use (See on page 246).
As many or as few colours and stitch symbols as wanted can be included in a palette, although showing
only the colours and symbols needed for a particular stitch pattern will help to keep the workspace
uncluttered. As it could be tedious to gather all the stitch symbols and colours every time a new stitch
pattern is designed, DesignaKnit provides ways to ease this process significantly.

A palette can be created with the colours and stitch symbols needed for a particular style, and
preserved by Save palette (See page 246) or Export palette (See page 247). I.e., for certain colour
combinations, for lace, for Fair Isle, for hand knitting, for 'look and feel' requirements etc. When starting
a new stitch pattern, this previously saved or exported palette can be accessed by Open palette (See
page 247) or Import palette (See page 249) and amended if needed.

In this way there is little duplicate effort and these custom made 'default' templates can be used over and
over (See on page 246).
Although colours or symbols may be hidden from view by clicking one or other option in the Palette Toolbar
(See page 228), they are still an integral part of the palette. Hiding or displaying one of the sections is
merely a way of simplifying the look of the palette.
The palette can be open on the workspace, resized by clicking, holding and dragging the edges, closed by
clicking the red "x" in the top right corner, the symbols or colours can be hidden or it can be moved away
from the workspace by selecting Options / Floating Windows for Palette etc, to provide as uncluttered a
view as possible. The palette's size is based on the last used cell size. This means that if a stitch pattern
was opened with a palette of few colours, each cell can be fairly large. If a different stitch pattern is
subsequently opened with a large number of colours, the palette will be large as the previous cell size is in
effect and may need resizing so it does not dominate the workspace.

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Description
The "Yarns + Stitch symbols" palette contains a lot of
information about the colours and stitch symbols used in
the design on the workspace and can be amended to
requirements. Palettes can be saved for future use,
items can be added or deleted, some information can be
hidden from view (See on page 228).

When viewing this manual on the computer, the

cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a
quick way of getting to the relevant section.

The "Yarns + Stitch symbols" window contains both

colours and symbols. All the colours and symbols that
are on the palette, whether they are used in the stitch
pattern or not, are displayed. All items are shown in a
continuous line to fill the palette, starting with the
colours. Unticking one of the options on the palette toolbar (see red arrows) results in the Palette displaying
only colours or stitch symbols, which will be reflected in the title bar.
Mouse buttons - The white square and its left, middle or right position indicate which colour or symbol is
used when clicking each mouse button. The properties that have the larger white square are active and will
be added to the stitch pattern on using Pencil (See page 94) or other drawing tools with the relevant mouse
button. The association with a different colour or symbol can easily be made by clicking the desired mouse
button on the desired colour or symbol in the palette. The mouse buttons are referred to as RMB, MMB and
LMB (right, middle and left mouse button) throughout the manual.
Focus - DesignaKnit can be in Colour or in Symbol mode which affects the Design Tools (See page 71). In
Symbol mode only the symbols will be used to draw, paint, lasso, cut, copy and paste. In Colour mode only
the colours are affected by these same actions. Whether typing a "1" in a cell (stitch) will result in a colour
or a symbol depends on whether the program is in Colour or Symbol mode.
Stitch Designer can be changed from one mode to the other very easily by pressing the "Ctrl" and "Shift"
key simultaneously while the palette is visible. This will swap over the large and small white squares on the
palette from colours to symbols or vice versa, thereby shifting the focus of the mouse buttons from one
property to the other.
If the LMB is active on a symbol instead of on a colour, as shown by the larger white square (see image
above) Stitch Designer is in Symbol mode, regardless of the focus of the other mouse buttons.

Pressing "Ctrl-Shift" swaps between Colour and Symbol mode. Symbol mode can also be
achieved by clicking the LMB on a symbol in the palette.

Whatever colour the RMB is set to is the background colour in the stitch pattern and this will be applied on
moving or deleting a section of the pattern, regardless of whether Stitch Designer is in Colour or Symbol
mode. Transparent colours are not moved and will therefore not be replaced by the RMB colour.
In the example above the green colour is associated with the right mouse button (RMB) and lavender with
the middle (MMB). The larger size of the squares indicates the active association. This means that, in this
example, when the RMB is clicked during designing by using, say, the Pencil tool, the cell (stitch) will be

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filled with green, when the LMB is clicked the 'tuck' stitch symbol will be added. Clicking the MMB in the
pattern results in lavender being applied to the stitch that is clicked on. Clicking the MMB on the Purl
symbol in the palette will enlarge the white square on it, reduce it on the lavender and clicking the MMB in
the pattern will subsequently apply purl stitches until the option is changed.

Selecting the correct colours and symbols for the different mouse buttons is important as the Drawing
Tools (See page 92) need to be 'loaded' with the right properties in order to draw the stitch pattern with
ease.

Instead of using the mouse buttons to draw the stitch pattern, the keyboard may be used while the Pencil
Tool is active (See page 94). It is important to realise that if the palette is in Colour mode, typing a number
will place the associated colour on the workspace, but if it is in Symbol mode, typing a number will place
whatever stitch symbol is associated with that number. The latter is not always the symbol that is expected,
as the program uses an underlying (ascii) table (See page 292).

In Colour mode the keyboard uses certain default behaviours:

○ The numbers 1 through to 9 are associated with the colours that are on the palette in left to right
order, regardless of whether they are associated with a mouse button. If the mouse is hovered over
the desired colour in the palette the sequential number of it will display in the status bar (See page
227). When a number is typed the palette will display it as the active colour until another number is
typed.
○ The space bar can be used to jump over stitches, leaving them unchanged.
○ Using the keyboard arrows the colour 'follows' behind the cursor, so the user needs to think 'one step
ahead' to know where the next colour will be filled, and if this is not correct, the tip of the pencil needs
to be repositioned. Switching from colours to symbols can be done by pressing "Ctrl" and "Shift" at
the same time. This has the effect that e.g., pressing "2" will now place a stitch symbol associated
with "2" instead of the second colour.

In Symbol mode the keyboard uses certain defaults behaviours:

○ When symbols are active, each keyboard key is tied to a fixed symbol, not to a position in the symbol
palette. Which key is associated with which symbol is not easy to ascertain as it depends on the
keyboard layout and language. Although some Smart Symbols seem to be 'fixed' (1 and 2 are 'tuck'
stitches, 3 is 'thread lace', 4 is a 'slip' stitch and "-" is a 'weave' stitch) it is much easier to add the
required symbols to the palette before applying them in the stitch design. That way a mouse button
can be assigned to the correct symbol, abolishing the need for guesswork. The KnitWrite© (See
page 251) chapter can be consulted for an in depth explanation of all the symbols in the Symbols
Organizer.
○ "Space bar" is the main stitch and "." (a full stop, not the "." on the number pad) is the 'unexpected'
stitch. For most methods of knitting the main stitch will be Knit and the "." will produce a Purl stitch,
while for Wrong side facing fabric the main stitch will be Purl, and the "." will render a Knit stitch. For
the Reverse Stocking stitch hand knit method the "." indicates the Knit stitch while for Garter it means
Knit on alternate rows and Purl on the others. This can easily be seen if the stitch pattern is displayed
in fabric texture view.
○ If symbols are used in the pattern they are added to the stitch symbols palette automatically if they
were not there before.

In some configurations of Windows the "Ctrl-Shift" key combination can result in swapping
language keyboard layouts if more than one is active. This is easily corrected by pressing
the same key combination again.

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"Knit" and "Purl" stitches (see light red rectangle in the image above (See page 224)) are permanently fixed
to every palette and cannot be moved, removed or edited. They can be used to replace other stitch
symbols that may have been inadvertently and incorrectly placed. To do so the "Knit" or "Purl" symbol
needs to be activated by clicking the RMB (right mouse button), LMB or MMB on it, after which the stitch
pattern can be edited by using one of the Drawing Tools (See page 92), or the stitches can be replaced or
combined by using the palette buttons (See on page 228).

If there is no middle mouse button, the mouse wheel can be clicked if this is present, or the right and left
button can be clicked together to achieve the same.

Selecting / deselecting - The blue arrows in the image above (See page 224) point to the needle position
which can be 'selecting' or 'deselecting'. The selecting property applies to both colours and smart symbols
for Fair Isle. For Right / Wrong side facing texture methods, it applies to smart stitch symbols only. Symbols
other than 'Smart Symbols' do not have this property.
The property applies to Fair Isle stitch patterns where the selecting and deselecting needles refer to the
main and background colour of each row. The needle position can be changed by clicking on the needle of
the symbol on the palette. An extended (selecting) needle will be retracted and the corresponding
background colour (deselecting) will change to extended (selecting) if necessary. If the design uses a yarn
which is sometimes in the front feeder, and sometimes in the rear one, then two instances of this colour
should be added to the palette; one set as selecting and the other as deselecting. Fair Isle is the only
method which requires needle selection to be set for the colours.

The selecting / deselecting state for individual colours can be toggled by clicking on the needle indic-
ators in the palette when they are visible. The "Ctrl-E" key combination can be used to swap the needle
selection for all colours at once.

Switching the selecting / deselecting state, which may be done by expert knitters, does not affect the status
of the Colour Changer, which means that the main yarn could end up on selecting needles even if the
Colour Changer is off or on deselecting ones if it is on. If the main yarn deselects needles even when the
Colour Changer status is on, the 'negative button' of the knitting machine should not be used. However, if
the main yarn selects needles even when the Colour Changer is off, the 'negative button' should be used. If
the stitch pattern contains an obvious main colour, any unusual needle selections are automatically
cancelled when the Colour Changer is turned on or off or the knit method is changed. The normal needle
selection is then restored according to the Colour Changer status.
Although smart stitch symbols also have this property (for Fair Isle and Right / Wrong side facing texture
methods), it is there for informational purposes only and cannot be changed by the user. The method of
knitting and knitting technique dictate the selection state. The expected main stitch does not have a needle
selection indicator because in a pattern row its selection status is determined by the presence of Smart
Symbols. If there are different techniques in the pattern, the main stitch may behave differently according to
the Smart Symbol selection status. E.g., a Knit stitch in a WS pattern may be selecting if it is paired with a
Tuck stitch in the same row, or deselecting if it is paired with Purl. Fair Isle patterns can contain smart
symbols and although the Knit stitch usually deselects and Purl stitch always selects the Knit stitch may
select if it is paired with other smart symbols in the same row.
For RS patterns on Japanese machines, Purl is the expected stitch. This means that whether it selects or
not depends on what smart symbol it is paired with. If it is paired with Knit on a particular row, the Knit
selects. If it is paired with Tuck on a given row, Purl selects. Therefore Purl Is shown in the palette without
any needle.
For Jacquard methods, none of the colours or symbols have the needle selection property, because
Jacquard is a full colour slip stitch technique whereby all the stitches in a row will be knitted in one or other
of the colours. DesignaKnit will separate the colours according to the settings in Yarn Numbers & Feeders.

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Transparency - The white arrows in the image above (See page 224) point to the symbol that defines a
colour as transparent (as in the blue cell) or opaque (as in the pink cell). When the cursor is hovered over
the transparency indicator the message "This yarn colour is opaque (or transparent)" will appear. This
property signifies if and how the colour in question will be copied and pasted and how 'lasso' actions are
performed. A transparent colour will not be pasted in a copy / paste action (See page 79), whereas an
opaque colour will be. When a motif with a transparent background is selected for copying, the background
will not be pasted to the destination area, unless the option is used to include all (See page 74). If the
background is opaque the entire motif will overwrite the area that it is copied to.
The colours to be knitted need to be known to DesignaKnit so that the correct colour changing instructions
can be given in the Interactive Knitting part of the program. The transparency settings dictate which colour
is perceived as the yarn on which the colour changes are based. The rules that apply to Fair Isle and Right /
Wrong side facing texture methods to decide the yarn that is actually used are as follows:
○ When a row contains just one colour, that colour represents the actual yarn colour.
○ When a row contains more than one colour, an opaque yarn should be used to represent the yarn to
be used. For Right / Wrong side facing texture methods, there should only be one opaque colour in a
row.
○ Any number of transparent yarns can be used for memo purposes in any one row, provided that the
row also contains an opaque yarn that represents the yarn to be used when a colour change takes
place.
Stitch symbols also carry a transparency indicator. This can be very handy in e.g., Right / Wrong side
facing texture methods, when drawing a picture in Knit stitches on a Purl background. If one of these
symbols is transparent and the other opaque it makes it easy to use the Lasso (See page 88) tool to pick up
the 'picture'.

Transparency can be toggled on and off for each colour or stitch symbol by clicking on the transparency
indicator in the lower left hand side of its button in the palette.

Audible warning - The musical note that is shown in the image above (See page 224) indicates that Inter-
active Knitting will produce an audible warning when this symbol is reached in the knitting process, so that
the appropriate action can be taken (See page 245).
If the musical note is greyed out it is inactive for the symbol. It can be activated by clicking on the note,
which will render it black.

Properties and information - Names of colours

and descriptions of stitch symbols can be seen by
hovering the cursor over each cell in the palette.
The appropriate information will be shown in the
status bar. In this example the cursor was hovered
over the "Cerise" colour. The information shows
that it is the sixth colour in this palette and the
values of Red, Green and Blue are shown.
This can be valuable information if a custom
colour was created in another palette and needs
to be reproduced.
When using the keyboard to add colours to a stitch
design it is useful to know the number of the
colour. Hovering the cursor over it and reading it in

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the status bar is easier than counting out the number from left to right in the palette.
Double clicking on a colour in the palette will open the "Colour adjustment" window from which the current
colour can be changed (See page 236).
When a symbol is hovered over, information will be shown in the same area and displays the knitting abbre-
viation, together with the knitting instructions, such as shown here for "WP".

Each colour in the palette can be given

a custom name instead of the default
name that is used in DesignaKnit.
Names may not exist for colours that
are used, especially if e.g., a photo-
graph is imported and its colours do not exist as defaults in DesignaKnit. Colours that are not currently in
use in the stitch pattern are surrounded by a dotted line.
In order to personalise the instructions or use the name of an actual yarn that is used, adding or changing
the name for any colour on the palette can be done through the Palettes / Colour Names menu option. This
will present a dialogue such as the one shown here. For each colour, the text box can be clicked and the
name replaced or changed. The names as they are defined here will appear in the printed knitting instruc-
tions as well as in Interactive Knitting.

Palette Toolbar

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor

may be hovered over the image. Where the cursor
changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a quick way of
getting to the relevant section.

The Palette toolbar offers quick access to different parts and functions of the current palette. Depending on
its size, it can appear in full, as in the top image, or with little red triangles at the side if only part of it is
shown, as in the bottom image. The red triangles can be clicked on to expand the palette to the size neces-
sary to display all information. Alternatively, the Palettes / Reset menu option can be used to reset the
palette to the default size for the stitch pattern, as determined by the number of colours and / or symbols it
contains.

Clicking the first ("Yarn Colour Palette") button will display or hide the symbols, while clicking the
second ("Stitch Symbols Palette") will display or hide the colours. If there are a lot of colours and / or
symbols on the palette it may be useful to limit the display to one or the other.

These two buttons can be used to enter the Yarn Colour Setup (See page 234) and Symbols
Organizer Setup (See page 243). Alternatively, the Palettes / Yarn Colour Setup and Palettes / Symbols
Organizer menu options may be used.

The "Combine" button can be used to combine colours and stitch symbols in a stitch pattern. The
button can be shown with an Up or a Down arrow, depending on whether a symbol is to be applied to a
colour (Up) or a colour to a symbol (Down). If a colour is clicked before a symbol, the arrow will point
upwards, if a symbol is clicked before a colour it will point downwards.
Clicking the LMB on a colour, then a stitch symbol, followed by the "Combine" (Up) button applies that
symbol to all the grid cells of that colour. Clicking the LMB on a stitch symbol, a colour and then the
"Combine" (Down) button applies the colour to all the grid cells that contain that symbol. This can be used

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for all the grid cells (stitches) in the pattern or limited to a selection box. Alternatively, the Palettes /
Combine menu option can be used after clicking the relevant colour and symbol in the correct order.
The Combine buttons appear only when yarn colours and symbols are both displayed in the palette. This
option is very useful if e.g., all Purl stitches in the entire stitch pattern or in a selection box need to be red.
An example has been worked out below, using a lace symbol and a colour.

Unless an area has been limited by using a selection box, the changes will affect all
stitches in the pattern that match the criteria.

In the image above the symbol was clicked first, then the colour, resulting in the larger white square (see
white circles) on the colour. Effectively, the palette is now in Colour mode. The first image shows that a
selection box has been drawn and both colour and symbol are associated with the LMB. Clicking the
"Combine" button results in the second image, where all the stitches that contain the lace symbol are now
red.
If a symbol is associated with the LMB, does not exist in the pattern and does not have the focus, as shown
by its smaller white square, clicking the "Combine" button will have no effect, as shown in the third image.

In the image above the colour Red and a lace symbol are both still associated with the LMB (see white
circles), but this time the colour was clicked first and the symbol second. Effectively, the palette is now in
Symbol mode, and the larger white square is on the lace symbol. The "Combine" arrow points up to signify
that the selected symbol will be applied to the selected colour.

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The focus can easily be swapped between Colour and Symbol mode by pressing the "Ctrl" and "Shift"
buttons simultaneously. This swaps over the larger and smaller white squares on the colour and symbol
buttons, changing the effect of the Combine button.
In the first image, the scene is set and in the second image the result of clicking the "Combine" button is
shown. As a selection box was active, the lace symbol is only applied to the red stitches within the box. In
the third image, the selection box was hidden and the lace symbol is applied to all the red stitches in the
entire pattern. In the fourth image, a symbol was chosen that did not exist in the stitch pattern. As the
symbol has the focus (larger white square) the result of clicking the "Combine" button is that the new
symbol has been added to all red cells within the selection box.

Whichever colour and symbol are associated with the LMB are involved in this process. The colour or
symbol that has the focus (larger white square) will be applied to the other, whether it already exists in
the pattern or not.

The "Replace" button (or Palettes / Replace menu option) will replace the colour or symbol associated
with the RMB by the colour or symbol associated with the LMB. This can be limited to a selection box or
applied to the entire stitch pattern.

Image (1) above shows the starting position of a stitch pattern with a selection box. Bearing in mind that the
LMB property replaces the RMB, red was replaced by light blue in image (2). Image (3) shows how
symbols can be replaced. Image (4) mixes colours and symbols. The lace symbol that is indicated in the
palette by a white circle was replaced by a colour.

Replacing a colour by a symbol, however, is not so straightforward as the background colour cannot be
calculated by DesignaKnit because this would normally be the RMB colour, which is the one being
replaced in this process.

Colour and Symbol replacements can also be achieved by using the Eraser tool (See page 95).

The "Exchange" button (or Palettes / Exchange menu option) swaps over the LMB and RMB colours
or symbols. It will do so for the selection box contents or, if no selection box was displayed, for the whole
pattern.

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The first two images above show a colour exchange, while the last two demonstrate a symbol exchange.
The scene is set in images 1 and 3 with the required colours and symbols associated with the LMB and
RMB. The result of clicking the "Exchange" button is shown in images 2 and 4. LMB and RMB properties
swap places.
In the colour exchange, what was pink is now blue, and what was blue is now pink. In the symbols
exchange, what was the lace symbol is now a Knit stitch and what was Knit stitch is now the lace symbol.
If the results are not as expected or desired, clicking the button again will swap the selections back to what
they were.
Although it is possible to mix a symbol and a colour to be exchanged, it is not recommended. As it is
impossible for DesignaKnit to determine what the background colour should be, especially if the symbol is
on different colours in different parts of the stitch pattern, the result can be unexpected. If this is attempted
and the result is not as desired, the Undo button or "Ctrl-Z" should be used, as swapping back using the
Exchange button may not return to the starting position.

Whereas "Replace" replaces one property with another, "Exchange" involves properties swapping over.

Palettes / Convert menu option - In addition to the "Combine", "Replace" and "Exchange" buttons on the
palette toolbar there are two Palettes menu options that will convert colours to stitch symbols and vice
versa. Depending on the settings of LMB and RMB, as well as the contents of the selection box or entire
pattern (if no selection box was drawn), the colours and / or stitch symbols will change. Examples have
been worked out below to clarify what happens in which circumstances.

Convert Yarn Colour - In

the first image on the left
(1) a selection box has
been drawn and filled with
Purl symbols.
The intention is to convert
the orange colour to the
'tuck' stitch symbol.
The palette was prepared so that both orange and the 'tuck' symbols are associated with the LMB. For this
action it does not matter which of them has the active role with the larger white square.

When Palettes / Convert Yarn Colour is chosen, the option box as

shown on the right is presented. The question relates to what
happens with the original colour of the stitch. Selecting "Yes" to
change to one colour per row results in the original orange being
replaced by whatever the colour of the RMB is, which in this case is
white (image 2).
Clicking "No" will leave the original colour of the stitch as it was, which in this case is orange (image 3).

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In both cases the orange stitches of the selection were converted to 'tuck' symbols.

Convert Stitch Symbol -

In the first image (1) the
same selection box was
drawn with orange and
filled with Purl symbols.
The intention is to convert
the Purl stitch symbols to
the green colour. The palette was prepared so that the LMB is associated with both green and the Purl
stitch. For this action it does not matter which of them has the active role with the larger white square.

When Palettes / Convert Stitch Symbol is chosen, the option

box as shown on the right is presented. The question relates to
what happens with the original symbol of the stitch. Selecting
"Yes" to change to one stitch symbol per row results in the
original Purl being replaced by whatever the symbol of the RMB
is, which in this case is Knit (image 2), which has no symbol. Clicking "No" will leave the original stitch
symbol of the stitch as it was, which in this case is Purl (image 3). In both cases the Purl stitch symbols of
the selection were converted to green.

Clicking the "Import" button on the palette toolbar will open the Thumbnails browser from which a previ-
ously saved or exported palette file can be imported. Alternatively, the Palettes / Import or Edit / Import /
Palette menu options may be used (See also Import palette on page 249).

This button cycles through three different possible states, showing or hiding Memo numbers
and Yarn Symbols on the stitch pattern and palette if they are present. Clicking this button automatically
hides any stitch symbols. Clicking the stitch symbols button switches off memo numbers and yarn symbols,
as they cannot be displayed on the stitch pattern at the same time. Memo numbers and Yarn Symbols can
be assigned to colours in a stitch pattern so that they can show up at appropriate times.

Both Memo numbers and Yarn Symbols relate to the colours of a stitch pattern.

Memo numbers are numbers that can show up on the console of certain knitting machines. Yarn Symbols
(not to be confused with Stitch Symbols) can be applied to any colour and will show up in Garment text &
Stitch pattern text (See page 380) and Pattern text (See page 69) instructions of Original Pattern Drafting
and Stitch Designer. Either Memo numbers or Yarn symbols will be displayed in Interactive Knitting,
depending on whether the garment piece or stitch pattern is machine knit (Memo symbols) or hand knit
(Yarn symbols).

The default DesignaKnit state of this button is without showing either Memo numbers or Yarn Symbols
on palette or stitch pattern.

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Clicking the "Yarn Symbols / Memo Numbers" button until it reads

"M" will display the Memo numbers on palette and stitch pattern as
shown on the left. Memo numbers can be used to download colour
change information to certain knitting machines (See on page 238).
Each colour that has a Memo number assigned displays that number
in the pattern if it is present, and on the palette.
In this example, "1" is assigned to both red and blue, and "2" is
assigned to both pink and purple, as can be seen in the pattern behind
the palette. It means that the number 1 or 2 will show up in the knitting
machine's console whenever a colour change is needed. It is up to the
knitter to determine which colour needs to be changed to.
This option can also be accessed through the View / Memo menu
option.

Clicking the "Yarn Symbols / Memo Numbers" button until it reads

"A" will display the Yarn Symbols on palette and stitch pattern as
shown on the left. Yarn Symbols are useful as reminders to change
colour in hand knitting (See on page 242).
Each colour that has a Yarn Symbol assigned displays that symbol in
the pattern if it is present, and on the palette.
Duplication of symbols for different colours is possible, but not
practical.
The Yarn Symbols will be printed only if the method of knitting is hand
knit and if all the colours have been assigned symbols (See on
page 380).
This option can also be accessed through the View / Yarn Symbols
menu option.

This button is only available if the method of knitting is machine knitting, and can be used to
switch the Colour Changer (if one is available for the current knitting method) on or off. More detailed
information about the Colour Changer and its options can be found in Colour Changer (See page 490).
This button can be clicked as a quick alternative to accessing the Options / Method of Knitting section to
change the Colour Changer on and off in the knitting machine setup. When this button is activated, the
knitting machine setup is automatically updated and "CC" is added to the file name shown in the title bar of
the Stitch Designer window.
If the Fair Isle method is used for Japanese machines, activating the Colour Changer automatically
reverses the needle selection indicators in the palette, so that the colours that need to be changed are
threaded into the rear feeder. This does not apply to Jacquard or Right / Wrong side facing texture
methods.

For Fair Isle colours, the selection status of the yarn colours can be reversed without
changing the current state of the Colour Changer by pressing "Ctrl-E".

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Whatever the status of the Colour Changer button on the palette, the pattern itself will be downloaded to
machines with an independent memory with the needle selection configured for normal knitting. If a Colour
Changer is used when knitting the pattern, the negative button of the knitting machine should be switched
on to reverse the needle selection. The Colour Changer option should also be switched on in Interactive
Knitting to produce the correct yarn changing instructions.

The "Help" button can be clicked to go directly to manual specific to the palettes.

Yarn Colour Setup

View properties 235
About Colours 235
Arranging colours 236
Colour ranges 237
Memo numbers 238
Yarn Symbols 242

Palettes can be set up with all the colours and stitch symbols that are used in the stitch pattern. Colour and
Stitch symbols have their own setup dialogues.

The "Yarn Colour setup" screen can be accessed by clicking on the button shown here, which is
located on the palette toolbar as well as on the Left Toolbar. Alternatively, the Palettes / Yarn Colour Setup
menu option can be used.

When viewing this manual

on the computer, the cursor
may be hovered over the
image. Where the cursor
changes to a hand it can be
clicked on as a quick way of
getting to the relevant
section.

All the colours can be selected

and organised and are saved in
the current palette together with
the stitch pattern. This palette
can also be saved or exported
separately for future use (See
on page 246).
All the colours in the palette are
individually shown on the left hand side of the "Yarn Colour Setup" dialogue. The colour 'picker' is shown to
the right of this, and consists of both the colour window in which colours can be picked out by the cursor
and a slide bar to lighten or darken the shade.
The currently selected colour is indicated by a dotted line around it (see top left hand side) and its proper-
ties are shown in several locations of the window (see blue arrows).

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These general buttons allow for saving the current palette under
the same or a different name (Save as), applying the changes that were made and returning to the
workspace (OK), cancelling any changes (Cancel) or accessing the Help files. Saving the palette file here
makes it accessible to apply to other stitch patterns (See on page 246).

Saving the palette in the "Yarn Colour Setup" window saves the palette and not the stitch pattern.

View properties

The button to show 'transparency' and 'needle selection' (see red oval
in the image above) can be ticked to show or hide these properties for
each colour in the palette. Whether the needle selections option is
shown depends on the method of knitting. It is only available for Fair
Isle stitch patterns.
The transparency indicator is available for all the methods.
In the images on the left, the different options and results are shown.
From top to bottom, the 'transparency' box was unticked, then ticked.
For the bottom image, the Fair Isle method was chosen (in Options /
Method of Knitting) and the box ticked.
For more information about transparency (See page 227) and for
needle selection (See page 226).
The transparency property can be changed by clicking on the trans-
parency indicator (see blue arrows). When needles are shown, their
position can be switched between selecting and deselecting by clicking
on the needle symbol in each individual colour (see red arrows). When "OK" is clicked, the palette will
reflect these properties. If all needle selections need to be swapped, it is easier to return to the stitch
pattern and press "Ctrl-E".

About Colours

This part of the "Yarn Colour Setup" window shows a sample of the
currently selected colour (indicated by a dotted line around it)
together with a table that shows the make up of it in Red, Green and
Blue components (RGB) as well as Hue, Saturation and Luminance
(HSL). Knowing where to find these values can be useful when
creating the exact same colour elsewhere in Stitch Designer. The
RGB values can also be seen when hovering the cursor over the colour in the palette while the stitch
pattern is displayed, or by clicking on the Dropper (See page 105) tool in the Left Toolbar and moving the
cursor over the stitch pattern on the workspace. In both cases the RGB values and, if one has been
assigned, the colour name will be displayed below the workspace.

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Double clicking on a colour in the palette or clicking

once on a colour in the pointer position window (See
on page 18) will open the "Colour adjustment"
window as shown on the left, from which it can be
adjusted in the same way.
RGB and HSL are two ways of expressing colour in
different values. Changing values in RGB will
change them automatically in HSL and vice versa.
More information can be found in RGB and HSL
(See page 470).

Arranging colours

Each colour can be moved to a different position by clicking on it,

holding the mouse button and dragging it to a different location. If
the colour is dragged and dropped onto an empty space in the
palette, the position of the other colours is not affected. If,
however, the colour is dropped onto an existing colour, all blocks
will move to create space for this colour and 'make way', as
shown in the image on the left. The top line represents the
starting position of the colours. The blue colour (with dotted line)
was moved to an empty space and the row was not affected as can be seen in the second line. Then it was
moved 'on top' of the orange to end up between orange and green, making the purple and orange move to
the left to take up the empty space. In this way, all colours can be repositioned. It may be prudent to move
colours to empty spaces first before moving them to their 'final' location.

There is no Undo button in this section! The "Cancel" button needs to be clicked to revert to
the palette as it was. After "OK" is clicked, the changes are fixed, although Undo can be
used to undo all the changes that were made to the palette in one go.

Pack - will move all the colours on the palette so that they form a continuous line
without empty spaces. It may, however, be useful to keep some space between
logically grouped colours. This is demonstrated in the images on the left. The top
shows the colours laid out in 'groups'. Below this image, the same colours after
"Pack" was clicked. The palette on the workspace shows all colours that are
present in one continuous block, regardless of any 'grouping' in the Colour Setup
window, keeping the sequential order intact.
Delete Current - Unwanted colours can be deleted one at a time by clicking on the colour so that a dotted
line is shown around it, then clicking this button.
Delete Unused - All colours that are not (yet) used in the stitch pattern can be deleted in one mouse click
by clicking on the "Delete Unused" button. If no stitch pattern is in the process of creation, this action will
delete all except a background colour.

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Negative - a Negative of a colour is easily produced by selecting it and

clicking on the "Negative" button. This will place the negative colour on the
next available empty space.
It is not to be confused with 'complementary colour'. DesignaKnit uses the
opposite (negative) value of the 'Hue' to arrive at the new colour, as shown
in the image on the left. Hue can be seen as a spectrum of colours where
the minimum number is "0" and the maximum "240". The furthest away one
can get from "0" is "120", which is the negative value. A 'negative' of Hue
value 176 will be 56 (176 minus 120), a negative of "10" will be "130" (10 plus 120).
Duplicate - A colour can be duplicated, which may be handy when creating a range of colours, by selecting
it (dotted line around it), then clicking the "Duplicate" button. This will place the duplicated colour on the
next available empty space, from where it can be moved.
Adding a new colour to the palette can be done by first clicking on an empty space that will hold the new
colour. The mouse can then be clicked anywhere in the colour 'picker' window to approximate the desired
colour. The slide bar can be used to lighten or darken the colour. If the RGB or HSL values are known, they
can be typed directly into the boxes. The "Sample" will reflect the choices.
Apply Colour - When the right colour has been achieved and the "Apply Colour" button is clicked, it is
placed on the palette in that position. If an empty space was not clicked on while creating the new colour, it
can be clicked on afterwards, after which "Apply" can be clicked.
Any colour can be changed by clicking on it so that it shows the dotted outline, then manipulating colour
picker, slide bar, RGB or HSL values and clicking "Apply Colour" when satisfied with the result.

Colour ranges

The "Narrow range" and "Wide range" options can be

used to create logical ranges of colours on the palette
between a start and end colour.
DesignaKnit can automatically fill a number of chosen
spaces by increments of colour.
Wide and narrow range refer to the route that is taken by
the DesignaKnit colour picker to arrive at the colours
between start and finish. The 'narrow' range follows them
to the right (the shortest route), while the 'wide' range
takes the longer route to the left. The 'route' can be
followed by clicking on each colour in turn and looking at
the location cursor in the picker.
To create a range, a start and end colour need to be on the palette and one of these needs to be selected.
In the image on the left each line represents a different scenario. In the top line a light blue colour was
selected as the start point, then the 'Narrow range' button was ticked after which the mouse was clicked in
the last empty space of the row. This resulted in lighter shades of the same colour. A similar scenario is
shown on the last line. Here the same light blue colour was the start point, but this time, black was also
placed on the palette as the last colour of that line. With the light blue selected, 'Narrow range' was clicked,
then the black colour and DesignaKnit filled in the shades in between. The same result would be achieved
if the black was selected, then 'Narrow range', then clicking the light blue.
In the middle four lines, light blue was chosen as a starting point and red as an end point. In each case the
light blue was selected first. On line 2 and 3, 'Narrow range' was selected, on line 4 and 5 'Wide range'.

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DesignaKnit filled in as many empty spaces as it was presented with, and distributes the colour range as
evenly as it can.
Any number of spaces, up to the entire palette, can be filled in this way. Clicking a start point somewhere in
the middle of the palette, selecting a wide or narrow range and clicking on a different colour at the begin-
ning or end of the palette will result in all the colours in between being overwritten by the calculated range.

Memo numbers
Memo numbers can be assigned to the colours of a stitch pattern so that, when the stitch pattern is
subsequently downloaded to certain knitting machines these will be able to display the Memo numbers on
their console as reminders of when a colour needs to be changed. Brother electronic knitting machines,
Silver Reed PE1 and Passap E6000 / E8000 can all handle Memo numbers if they are assigned.
Furthermore, Memo numbers can be used to assign a particular yarn to a particular feeder. This inform-
ation will be used when a pattern is downloaded to a knitting machine and at the Interactive Knitting stage.

Memo numbers can be assigned by using the Palettes / Memo

menu option. This presents the dialogue shown on the left, with all the
colours that are in the palette, regardless of whether they are
currently used in the pattern.
Memo numbers can be displayed or hidden on palette and stitch
pattern by clicking the relevant button on the Colour palette toolbar or
using the View / Memo menu option.
Numbers 1 through to 9 can be assigned and each number can be
used multiple times. This allows for situations where ten or more
colours are used in a stitch pattern, or where a Colour Changer is
used and several colours are fed through the same feeder.
Memo numbers are assigned by clicking, holding and dragging one of
the numbers on the left hand side to the required colour square in the
grid on the right. Removing a number is done by dragging the blank square at the top left hand side (see
red arrow) and dropping it over an existing number in the grid.
Alternatively, the "Auto" button (see blue arrow) can be clicked for DesignaKnit to assign numbers to
certain yarns which can have one of two effects:
○ A DesignaKnit default construction of Yarn Numbers & Feeders will be allocated if columns and / or
blocks have not been moved in the Yarn Numbers & Feeders display by the user.
○ The Memo numbers will be applied according to the previously edited user arrangement of feeders
and / or yarn blocks (See on page 150), provided this arrangement will not lead to empty columns
(See on page 495).
Using the "Auto" button can be a good start before allocating sequences manually because only compat-
ible combinations will be offered, generally distributing the yarns in the Colour Changer in the most logical
way, with the fewest yarn changes. However, if yarns have already been distributed by dragging columns
or blocks (See page 150), this user assignment will be applied instead. Only colours that are actually used
in the pattern are given a Memo number. Only contrast colours are assigned Memo numbers for Fair Isle
patterns, and only opaque yarns are assigned Memo numbers for Right / Wrong side facing texture
methods.
Memo numbers may be changed. However, if the manual assignment results in empty columns it is invalid,
and a default DesignaKnit sequence is recalculated and applied.

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Examples have been given below to clarify how Memo numbers work with Yarn Numbers & Feeders in
each method.

Fair Isle - only

deselecting yarns are
assigned a Memo
number when 'Auto'
has been used to
assign them as the
selecting (main) yarn
(s) will be fed through
the Front feeder. Two
different config-
urations of the same
stitch pattern, to be
knitted on a Brother
knitting machine,
have been shown on
the left. The "Auto"
button has been used
in scenario (A) to let DesignaKnit assign the Memo numbers. The detail of the palette shows which needles
are selecting and deselecting. Auto assigning Memo numbers results in the selecting needles not having a
number, as they are fed through the Front feeder and as such do not need a Colour Changer position with
corresponding number. The Yarn Numbers & Feeders screen shows the front feeder (FB) with the two
selecting (main) yarns while the four contrast yarns will be fed from the Changer. Only three Changer
feeder positions are used as red and purple share CC1. The Interactive Knitting Yarns Progress window at
the bottom is shown at RC 0 to demonstrate that the Memo numbers match the Feeder positions so that
Memo "1" matches "CC1", Memo "2" matches "CC2" etc.
Memo numbers were user assigned in scenario (B) and even though the selecting (light blue and grey)
yarns were assigned a Memo number, these are ignored as these yarns are assigned to the front feeder.
The CC positions in the Stitch Designer Yarn Numbers & Feeders screen and the Interactive Knitting Yarns
window match, and are different to those in scenario (A). All four Changer positions are used because
Memo number 4 was assigned to a colour that is used in the pattern.
If Memo numbers up to and including 4 are assigned, the knitting machine setup option "More than 4
tension wires available for Fair Isle" is overruled and all 4 Colour Changer positions are used in addition to
the front feeder.

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 Palettes (Complete)

Jacquard - the stitch pattern on the left is a 3 colour pattern that

comprises only 3 colours in total. Although the palette contains a
fourth one which has been given a Memo number, this is of no
influence on the Stitch Designer or Interactive Knitting screens.
Each colour has been given a Changer position according to the
Memo number, so that pink is on CC1, blue on CC2 and Red on
CC3 of the Brother knitting machine that was used for this
example.
However, if the unused yellow had been given Memo number 3
while red was given number 4, the numbers of used colours
would not be sequential (1, 2, 4) and the Colour Changer
positions would no longer be in step with the Memo numbers.
Instead, the positions would be calculated by DesignaKnit. The
Jacquard yarn sequence numbers in Stitch Designer do not
necessarily match the CC positions as can be seen in this
example where red is "J1" in Stitch Designer, while the Memo
number "3" ensures that Colour Changer position "CC3" will be
used on downloading and in Interactive Knitting.

Stitch Designer shows the Jacquard yarn sequence and Interactive Knitting shows the Colour Changer
positions!

Memo numbers were 'Auto' assigned for the 6

colour Jacquard pattern on the left and in this
case, the Jacquard yarn sequence happens to
match the Interactive Knitting configuration. As
the knitting machine is a Silver Reed, the CC
positions are indicated by letters, so that Memo
number "1" is matched with "CCA", "2" with
"CCB" etc.
The Stitch Designer screen shows the
Jacquard sequence and it is only in the Inter-
active Knitting Yarns screen that it becomes
obvious that the Memo numbers are indeed in
accordance with the Colour Changer positions
that are dictated by the Memo numbers.
As a Colour Changer has only 4 positions and
DesignaKnit displays the number of colours of
the method as feeders, it is up to the user to
decide which physical feeders double up for
positions 5 and 6.
If the yarns are not shown on the expected
feeders according to the Memo numbers that were given, there will be some incompatibility and the rules
for applying Memo numbers may need to be consulted (See page 495).

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Right / Wrong side facing texture

methods - If Memo numbers are not
allocated, the colour that is used most
in the pattern will be assigned to
Changer position 1. This is shown in
the leftmost scenario where no
(blank) Memo numbers resulted in
assigning the pink yarn to Colour
Changer position 1 as it dominates
the pattern, while the others have
been distributed over CC2, CC3 and
CC4. This is the default DesignaKnit
distribution for this example, which is
the same as if the "Auto" option had
been used in the Memo dialogue.
Both the blank and the Auto generated Memo numbers have been shown below the image. Using "Auto"
left Blue without a number as it is a transparent yarn and will as such not be knitted into the pattern.
Alternatively, the feeder position of yarns in the Colour Changer can be influenced by using Memo
numbers, provided the rules are applied correctly (See page 495). This has been shown in the rightmost
scenario where Memo numbers have been user assigned to all colours in a very different way, making sure
that numbers 1 through to 4 were used and that all yarns have been assigned a Memo. If even one of the
yarns had been left without a Memo number, the default DesignaKnit configuration (as shown in the
leftmost scenario) would have been applied on viewing the Yarn Numbers & Feeders.
Specific information about Memo numbers in relation to the different electronic knitting machines:

Brother
Brother electronic machines can display memo numbers on their console to indicate which colours should
be in use on any particular row. In this way the console reminds the user of when a colour needs to be
changed.
○ When knitting Jacquard, every colour in the pattern can be allocated a number
○ When knitting Fair Isle, normally only the contrast yarns carry memo information

Passap
Passap E6000 / E8000 machines can display Memo Numbers to indicate when to change colour. For multi-
coloured Jacquard, colours should have Memo numbers allocated as follows:
○ For 4 colour patterns, only the numbers 1 to 4 should be used
○ For 3 colour patterns, only the numbers 1 to 3 should be used
○ For 2 colour patterns, only the numbers 1 and 2 should be used
The numbers refer to the yarns within a row. If the pattern consists of more colours than the maximum
number allowed in any one row for the chosen method, numbers can be reused for other colours. E.g., if
the first ten rows use Red, Green, Blue, Yellow and the next few rows use Red, Black, White and Green,
this could be set up as follows:
Red = 1, Green=2, Blue and Black=3 and Yellow and White=4
Double-bed machines, like the Passap, do not transfer the stitches horizontally in one operation like the
single bed Japanese machines, but take them first to the opposite bed and then back to the original bed.

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 Palettes (Complete)

Silver Reed
The Silver Reed PE1 Pattern Controller can display Memo numbers while knitting to indicate which colour
should be in use on any particular row. Memo information is only shown when a pattern has been trans-
ferred for Jacquard or AG50 Intarsia knitting, using method D Jacquard separation.

Yarn Symbols
Yarn Symbols can be used to provide each colour in the stitch pattern with a number, letter or symbol, so
that they can be printed as symbols in a printed chart.
If Yarn symbols are assigned to colours in the stitch pattern, they will print as symbols in Garment symbols
& Stitch pat symbols (See page 389) and Stitch pat symbols (See page 66) as long as the stitch repres-
entation is chosen as "Yarn Colour Symbols" in their setup screen. If Yarn Symbols are assigned to all the
colours, Garment text & Stitch pattern text (See page 380) and Pattern text (See page 69) will print this
colour information for each row in the stitch pattern. To be useful it is handy if all the colours have also been
given names in the Palettes / Colour Names menu option (See page 228).

Yarn Symbols can be assigned by using

the Palettes / Yarn Symbols menu option
and displayed on palette and stitch
pattern by clicking the relevant button on
the colour palette or using the View /
Yarn Symbols menu option.

Unless all colours have been

assigned a Yarn symbol, colour
information will not be included in the
Pattern text or Garment text printouts.

All the colours in the palette are

displayed and can be assigned a symbol
from the left hand table by clicking,
holding, dragging and dropping one of
the letters, numbers or symbols onto the
required colour. The symbol can be changed by dragging and dropping another symbol on top of it, or
removed by dragging the blank square at the top left hand side and dropping it over an existing, unwanted
symbol in the grid (see red arrow).
In the image the 'Arial' font was used, but another font can be chosen by clicking on the drop down arrow
next to the font (see red circle) and selecting a different one, thereby extending the range of symbols that
can be used.
The KnitWrite© font is the only font that is excluded from the list of possible fonts, as its characters contains
specific functions.

After clicking "OK" when a symbol is

dragged onto a colour, the stitch pattern
on the workspace displays all Yarn
symbols. Depending on the zoom level,
this may appear to take out the colours,
while in fact it only displays the Yarn
Symbols on the stitch pattern while
switching off the "Symbols" button. The
images on the left show the stitch pattern before and after adding a Yarn symbol, then a detail to show the

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Palettes (Complete)

Yarn Symbols and the same detail after clicking the "Symbols" button which hides the Yarn symbols and in
effect returns the display to the starting view.

View / Yarn Symbols, View / Memo and View / Stitch Symbols are mutually exclusive and therefore
selection of any one will cancel viewing any other.

Symbols Organizer Setup

General 244
Symbols Organizer Toolbar 245
Save 246

The palette can be set up with the relevant symbols to reflect the stitches used in the stitch pattern by using
the Symbols Organizer. It can be set up for the current pattern only, or saved for future use.

The Symbols Organizer window can be accessed by clicking on the button shown here, which is
located on the palette toolbar as well as on the Left Toolbar. Alternatively, the Palettes / Symbols Organizer
menu option can be used.

When viewing this manual

on the computer, the
cursor may be hovered
over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it
can be clicked on as a
quick way of getting to the
relevant section.

All the possible stitch symbols

that can be used are shown
on the left hand "Stitch
Symbols" side of the Organ-
izer, while the symbols
chosen for the currently used
palette are shown in the
"Stitch Palette" grid on the
right.
The DesignaKnit KnitWrite©
font, which is automatically
installed with DesignaKnit
contains all the symbols. This
font is dedicated to represent the knitting stitches shown here (See on page 251).
Stitch symbols to be used in the current stitch pattern can be added to the palette in two ways:
○ By using the Symbols Organizer. If a symbol needs to be added it can be clicked on in the left hand
side "Stitch Symbols", which will add a blue border around it (see blue arrow in image above), then
held and dragged over to the desired position on the "Stitch Palette" on the right hand side. Any of
the symbols, except Knit, Purl and symbols currently used in the stitch pattern can be deleted by
selecting them in the "Stitch Palette", right clicking, then selecting "Delete". If the cursor is moved

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 Palettes (Complete)

slightly to the right while using the RMB, "Delete" will be highlighted and the symbol can be deleted
without an extra mouse click. Alternatively, the symbol that needs to be deleted can be clicked, held
and dragged off the palette. Symbols can also be replaced on the palette by clicking the desired
symbol in the "Stitch Symbols" grid, holding, dragging and dropping it onto the symbol to be replaced
in "Stitch Palette".
○ By using the Pencil (See page 94) tool and typing a number or letter into the pattern while Desig-
naKnit is in Symbol mode. This will place the associated symbol on the pattern and, if it is not yet
present, add it to the palette.
Once symbols are on the palette the RMB, LMB or MMB can be associated with them by clicking the
relevant mouse button on the desired symbol. Three symbols can be activated in this way, and a white
square appears on the symbol, indicating the mouse button position. The symbols can then be placed onto
the stitch pattern by selecting one of the drawing tools and clicking the appropriate mouse button where the
symbol is to appear. Mouse buttons can be 'loaded' with a different symbol by clicking the appropriate
button on the desired symbol.

General
If the "Show attributes" box is ticked (see red circle in the image above), the "Stitch Symbols" will be
displayed with colour coded information to make it easy to identify their attributes:

a green background to a symbol indicates that it is associated with the Lace

(See page 328) tool. Although lace symbols could be used freely, this is not recommended as
they carry lace specific information for knitting machines to separate the pattern into transfer
passes for the lace carriage and knit passes for the main carriage.

the pink background refers to machine knitting Smart Symbols that will show
the selecting or deselecting needles property for stitches that are used with Fair Isle or Right /
Wrong side facing texture methods. Whereas the selecting and deselecting needles in the colour
palette can be changed from one position to the other by clicking on the colour in the palette, the
stitch symbols take their position only from the selected method of knitting and cannot be changed
manually. For the Right side facing texture method, the Knit stitch is selecting, for the Wrong side
facing texture method this it the Purl stitch. For the Fair Isle method it depends on the state of the
Colour Changer. For hand knitting, these symbols could be used freely although, as most of them
include the word 'Machine' in their description, it may be better to choose alternatives (See on
page 271).The Knit and Purl stitch in this section cannot be removed from any palette, as one or
both of these are the main or expected stitch for every stitch pattern.

the little orange flag shown at the bottom right of a number of the stitch
symbols denotes that these stitches can be displayed as texture in the 'Fabric Texture' view (See
page 27). Knit and Purl stitches and lace eyelet symbols show up as true textures. The textures
for most other stitch symbols are an approximation or are shown as the symbol over the knitted
texture.

the little blue flag shown at the bottom left of the symbol indicates that there
are no abbreviations and / or instructions for that symbol. This is the only flag that can be influ-
enced by the user, as instructions can be deleted, added to or amended for all except the Knit and
Purl symbols. Abbreviations and Instructions show up in various prints as well as in Interactive
Knitting. The majority of symbols will not have an instruction allocated because they will not be
applicable to machine knitting. Almost all of the symbols have instructions if the method is set to
hand knitting. The abbreviations and instruction will be displayed in the status bar below the stitch
symbols when a symbol is clicked on.

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Palettes (Complete)

a blue background is shown in the "Stitch Palette" grid on the right hand side for
any symbol that is used in the current stitch pattern. In the image above this is only the Knit stitch.
Symbols that are used in the current stitch pattern cannot be deleted from the current palette.

Symbols Organizer Toolbar

The buttons of the Stitch Symbols Organizer toolbar access different parts of the Organizer. The "OK",
"Cancel" and "?" buttons are self explanatory, where "OK" will accept any changes made to the palette,
"Cancel" will cancel them and leave the palette as it was before entering the Organizer. Both will return the
user to the workspace with the stitch pattern.
©
The Text Editor accesses the abbreviations and knitting instructions for all the KnitWrite
font symbols. They may be viewed, amended if required and saved as a separate symbols file for future
use. This can be very useful if a certain 'house style' is used for knitting abbreviations and instructions that
is different to the DesignaKnit table entries. It may also be useful to add instructions to symbols that have
none. The Text Editor dialogue buttons have been described in the Text Editor (See page 295) chapter.

The option to change the method of knitting is provided on this screen as a convenient way
to change it, without having to leave the Symbols Organizer. Changing the method here will change it for
the stitch pattern and the change is immediately reflected in the top window bar of the DesignaKnit window
in the background (See on page 338).

Alerts can be set for stitch symbols (See on page 271), to generate audible reminders at the
Interactive Knitting stage. Knit, Purl and any other symbols that can select needles, as well as the colours
cannot have alerts set and an error message to that effect will be displayed if it is attempted.

To set an alert, a suitable symbol has to be selected by

clicking on it (a blue outline will appear around it) after
which the "Alerts" button needs to be clicked. This will
present the dialogue shown on the left.
The selected symbol is shown in the top left corner and
one of the five alerts can be selected. To hear an
example of each sound, the musical note button can be
clicked.
Which sounds, if any, will be heard depends on each
user's individual Windows setup. If, for example, a 'no-
sounds' sound scheme has been selected, there will be
no sounds, whatever alert is chosen. Also, if sounds are
disabled or muted in the volume mixer, there will be no
sounds. These settings can be found in Windows
Control panel and the sound icon in the Windows task
bar (usually on the bottom right hand side of the
Windows screen). Each of the sounds can be configured in the Control panel, in order to distinguish clearly
between them.
To be able to hear the sounds in Interactive Knitting, they have to be enabled there. More information can
be found in the Interactive Knitting manual.

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 Palettes (Complete)

Save

The "Save" button on the Stitch Symbols Organizer window can be clicked once the palette has been
modified to requirements. This is a useful option if this palette with its particular combinations of colours
and symbols is wanted for more than just this particular stitch pattern (See below).

Handling palettes
Save palette 246
Export palette 247
Open palette 247
Import palette 249

When starting with a "New from Default" stitch pattern (See on page 53), the default palette with basic
colours and stitch symbols based on the knitting method and options chosen is presented. Each palette
can be customised for each stitch pattern and is saved with it whenever the stitch pattern is saved. It can be
also be saved or exported separately and opened or imported whenever required.

Whenever a stitch pattern is saved, its palette is saved with it. When a Palette is saved separately the
stitch pattern information is not included.

Save palette

An entire stitch pattern can be saved as a Palette file by using

the File / Save (As) menu option. When this option is used, the
DesignaKnit title bar changes to read the newly given name
(see red oval) as the stitch pattern has now been saved as a
palette file (.plt). The original stitch pattern still exists as a stitch
pattern.

When the File / Save (As) option is used, the "Save Palette File"
dialogue is presented in which a name and location can be specified. As the file is a stitch pattern, *.plt has
to be selected in the "Save as type" box, as shown above, to save it as a palette file.
Any unsaved changes to the original stitch pattern will be lost on saving it as a palette file. The new palette
file will be shown in the most recently used file list (See page 37) and, on opening it at any time in the future,
the stitch pattern will be placed on the workspace as a palette file, as shown here. This can be useful if it is
important to know which stitch pattern the palette file was derived from.
Saving a palette file separately from a stitch pattern can be done by using the "Save" and "Save As"
buttons in the Symbols Organizer and Yarn Colour Setup screen respectively. Using these options does
not affect the stitch pattern on the workspace. The resulting palette file is separate from the stitch pattern,
its name is not shown in the DesignaKnit title bar and it will not be in the recently used file list. The palette is
in effect exported in the background and can be opened and edited separately. As the result of using these

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options is the same as for using the Edit / Export / Palette menu option, the process is described in Export
palette (See page 247).

Export palette
Exporting a palette separately from a stitch pattern can be done by using the Palettes / Export or the Edit /
Export / Palette menu option. The resulting .plt files are the same as the palette files that are generated by
using the "Save As" or "Save" buttons in the Yarn Colour Setup screen or the Symbols Organizer respect-
ively.
Exporting a palette file is useful if changes need to be made to colours and symbols outside of any stitch
pattern. This will not affect existing stitch patterns that may have been based on the palette.

Clicking the "Save" button on the

Symbols Organizer toolbar (See
on page 245), clicking the "Save
As" button in the Yarn Colour
Setup screen (See on page 234)
or using the Palettes / Export or
Edit / Export / Palette menu
option will all display the "Save
Palette File" dialogue (as shown
on the left) in which a name and
location can be specified.
The default location for stitch
patterns (See page 37) is
presented and the "Palettes" file
type is already preselected. The
file name that is presented is the
same as for the stitch pattern and
may be changed.
When "Save" is clicked, the
palette file is saved and DesignaKnit returns to the Stitch Symbols Organizer, Yarn Colour Setup window or
the stitch pattern on the workspace, depending on the method that was chosen to save or export the
palette file. All colours and symbols that are on the palette will be saved and from then on this palette file is
a separate object, a .plt file, which can be combined with this or any other stitch pattern. It can be opened
as it is, or it can be imported into an existing stitch pattern or palette file (See on page 249).
If "Cancel" is clicked in the "Save Palette File" dialogue, the palette will not be saved in a separate file,
although any changes that were made will be saved with the current stitch pattern on saving it.

When a palette is saved or exported DesignaKnit will keep all the palette information, such as
which colours and stitch symbols are on it, including any alterations to the symbols that have
been made with the Text Editor. The 'stitch pattern' that is placed on the workspace when a
previously exported palette file is opened will contain two stitches by two rows in the RMB
colour of the palette, as shown on the left. If the File / Save As menu option was used to save a stitch
pattern as a palette file, opening it will place the stitch pattern on the workspace (See page 246).

Open palette
Opening and importing a palette file have different functions. The first is used when changes are required
to be made to a palette file without having any stitch pattern open on the workspace. The latter is used to

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add the properties of an existing (saved or exported) palette file to the palette of a stitch pattern that is open
on the workspace.
Depending on whether a palette file was saved (See on page 246) or exported (See on the previous page),
opening it will either place the stitch pattern it was created from (See page 246), or a minimal stitch pattern
of two stitches by two rows in the RMB background colour (See page 247) on the workspace. Colours,
symbols or the way the palette is presented can all be changed after which it can be saved. A stitch pattern
could be created from here by saving the opened palette file as a stitch pattern. However, better practice is
to use opening a palette file for altering palettes and then import one into a stitch pattern.

A palette file can be chosen by using

the File / Thumbnails and selecting the
*.plt file type in the drop down box. This
will change the files that are displayed
and the name of the window (see red
arrows). This option (as shown on the
left) provides most detail as well as a
helpful image to determine which
palette file to choose.
As with all the Thumbnails windows,
details can be shown, the thumbnails
can be zoomed in, sorted and
searched and the image that is clicked
on appears larger in the lower part of
the window on the left. The different
options can be viewed in Search (See
page 435) and Sort (See page 435).
A palette file can also be opened
through File / Open Stitch Pattern or
"Ctrl-O". The file type that is searched
for needs to be changed to *.plt and the
file name needs to be known as there are no thumbnails. To see the dialogue and its options (See page
437).
After a palette is chosen and "OK" is clicked it will open on the workspace.

To demonstrate how DesignaKnit handles saved and exported palette files, the 'rosy'
stitch pattern on the left was used as an example. With this on the workspace, its
palette was exported as well as saved from the Symbol Organizer toolbar. When
looking at the thumbnails in File / Thumbnails there is no difference between them,
except for the name which was given:

Opening either of these .plt file through File / Thumbnails or File / Open
results in a minimal stitch pattern, measuring two stitches by two rows
in the RMB colour of the palette being placed on the workspace (as
shown on the left), with the palette exactly as shown in the thumbnail.
If this palette file is intended to be the basis of a new stitch pattern, it can easily be
resized, using different methods. E.g., the Modify / Rescale menu option (See on page 164), the View /

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Repeats menu option or button on the Left Toolbar (See on page 86) in combination with Edit / Redefine or
button on the Left Toolbar (See on page 84), or simply adding rows and columns (See on page 87). Edit /
Clear Yarn colours (See page 38) will quickly apply a newly chosen RMB colour if required after which the
new stitch pattern can be designed. If this is the intention it is important to save it as a stitch pattern instead
of a palette file.

The real purpose of opening a palette file is to amend its colours and stitch symbols as required, after
which it can be saved as a palette file and imported into new or existing stitch patterns.

Import palette
Importing a saved or exported palette will present options to combine the palette of the stitch pattern that is
open on the workspace with the imported palette.

A palette can be imported by using the

Palettes / Import or Edit / Import / Palette
menu option, which first of all presents the
thumbnails "Open Palette File" dialogue
from which a file can be chosen (See page
248). After a selection is made and "OK" is
clicked, the "Import palette" window as
shown on the left will be presented.
A palette file (.plt) can be opened or
imported directly, or it can be opened indir-
ectly from an existing stitch pattern. In the
latter case a stitch pattern containing the
desired palette is opened by using the
Palettes / Import or Edit / Import / Palette
menu option and changing the file type to
be searched for to *.stp. When the required
stitch pattern has been selected the same
"Import palette" dialogue is shown in the
same way as it would have been if a palette file was chosen. Only the palette information is imported.
Yarn colours and / or stitch symbols can be chosen to be imported or not by ticking or unticking the relevant
boxes (see red circles), which will grey out the relevant options.
The current and imported palette can be combined in different ways. Keeping all colours and stitch symbols
of both effectively adds one palette to another.
Removing all colours or stitch symbols of the current palette replaces its contents by those of the imported
palette. Removing unused colours and / or stitch symbols adds the new options to the current palette and
removes colours and / or stitch symbols that are not used in the stitch pattern on the workspace. Not all
items in a palette may be in use in the stitch pattern. There are, for example, a lot of colours in the default
palette (accessed by File / New from Default), but none of them (except for the single colour that is used for
the whole pattern) are in use until the drawing tools are used.

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A couple of examples have been given of the

effects of the different options, based on the two
palettes on the left which were created at an
earlier stage. The colours and stitch symbols are
different for each palette, with the exception of the
Knit and Purl stitches, which are present (and not
removable) on all palettes.
The 'Demo' palette was on the workspace without
a stitch pattern, after which the 'Bow' palette was
imported. Both yarn colours and stitch symbols
were ticked for import.

The first image is the result of ticking "Keep

all", the second image is the result of ticking
"Remove Unused" for both colours and
stitch symbols.
On ticking "Remove all", the following error
message appeared:

There would not have been enough left to

combine the palettes, so an 'educated
guess' is made by DesignaKnit as to what
to keep in the current palette.
Any number of combinations can be made from colours and stitch symbols of existing palettes and stitch
pattern files by importing them into one palette. Once such a 'house style' palette is complete it can be
exported to save time and effort in gathering all desired yarns and stitch symbols that are used frequently.

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KnitWrite©
Machine knit Smart Symbols 252
Hand knit Smart Symbols 260
Memo Symbols 271
Keyboard layout 289
Designing with Symbols 291
Table of Symbols 292

The KnitWrite© font has been designed specifically to be used with DesignaKnit and is installed automat-
ically. The font contains a wealth of symbols with not only different descriptions for both hand and machine
knitting methods, but (for certain symbols) active functions that are used when they are downloaded to
electronic knitting machines. When DesignaKnit is installed, the font is also available in other applications
on the computer such as Word and Excel.
All the symbols in the font are relevant to hand knitting. Most provide instructions for individual or groups of
stitches and a few are used to control how the stitch pattern is read in order to produce relevant text instruc-
tions such as 'No Stitch' or 'Turn' symbols. The basic stocking stitch (See page 343) is the most convenient
background for designing hand knit stitch patterns.
The KnitWrite© font has superseded the Roosmalen font which was used to draw symbols prior to Desig-
naKnit 8. If a pattern from one of these earlier versions is opened in DesignaKnit 9, there may be
Roosmalen symbols without a KnitWrite© equivalent. The pattern may need to be checked and, if neces-
sary, amended. The Roosmalen font is still shipped with DesignaKnit and can, like any true type font, be
used to represent yarn colours through the Palettes / Yarn Symbols menu option.
Symbols can roughly be divided into Smart Symbols and Memo Symbols, although what is a Smart symbol
for machine knitting could be a Memo symbol for hand knitting and vice versa. Smart Symbols for machine
and for hand knitting have different functions and both generate knitting instructions in Interactive Knitting.
Machine Smart Symbols control the selection of needles for textured patterns such as Tuck, Slip, Thread
lace, Weave and Lace (with the Lace tool), while Hand knitting Smart Symbols control the direction of
knitting and can be used for multi-stitch procedures. All other symbols are Memo Symbols which, with their
associated abbreviations and knitting instructions can be used to result in meaningful pattern charts and
text instructions. Memo symbols can be set to generate audible alerts.
KnitWrite© symbols can be applied to a stitch pattern by using various drawing tools or activating the Pencil
tool and typing directly into the pattern.

The KnitWrite© symbols are

provided with a default set
of instructions. These will
vary according to which
knitting method has been
assigned to the pattern.
Identical symbols can carry
different abbreviations and
instructions, depending on
the method of knitting that is
selected in the drop down
box (see red arrows).

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Switching between the HandKnit methods will most often result in Knit and Purl being swapped over.
Some symbols have no abbreviation or instructions in some of the knitting methods, as can be seen in the
images above. This may be the case for hand knitting Smart symbols with a fixed function that controls
shaping, such as indicating a short row turn that causes DesignaKnit not to read the pattern beyond the
Turn symbol, or if a symbol has no particular relevance in one or other knitting method.
The KnitWrite© font contains more symbols for hand knitting than for machine knitting because of the
greater variety of possible hand knitting operations. In addition, knitting machines 'understand' certain
symbols to mean certain things, while for hand knitting, the instructions need to be more verbose. Having
no abbreviation is indicated by a small blue triangle in the bottom left hand side of the symbol in the Symbol
Organizer when the details box is ticked (See on page 244).

If a stitch symbol has no abbreviation, possibly because it represents a hand knit symbol used in a
machine knit stitch pattern or a machine knit symbol in a hand knit pattern, it will not generate instruc-
tions in the Garment text & Stitch pattern text (See page 380) printouts but will be treated as a
background stitch in order to keep the stitch count correct in each row of knitting.

If a symbol without an abbreviation is

encountered, a descriptive warning message
such as the one shown on the right will be
presented for the first such symbol that is
encountered when checking, saving, printing
or using Interactive Knitting. DesignaKnit will
accept the symbol and all of the affected
stitches will be represented by the main background stitch, in order to keep the stitch count of every row
correct. It can be useful to produce a printout showing the stitch symbols, to read alongside the pattern text
instructions. This can be done through Garment symbols & Stitch pat symbols (See page 389), making
sure that the stitch representation is "Stitch symbols".
Abbreviations and instructions can be changed for each of the symbols, with the exception of the Knit and
Purl symbols by using the Symbols Organizer Text Editor (See page 295). The new information will be
embedded in the current stitch pattern when it is saved. Additionally, it can be saved to a separate symbols
file (See page 299) to be used with other stitch patterns if needed.
Audible alerts (See page 245) can be set for all symbols except the needle selecting smart symbols, to
produce Interactive Knitting reminders wherever they occur (depending on the Windows sound system
settings).

Machine knit Smart Symbols

Knit & Purl 253
Tuck 254
Thread lace 255
Slip 255
Weave 256
Technique Change Control 256
Lace 259

Smart Symbols are called smart because, in controlling needle selections for stitch patterns, they take an
active role when they are downloaded to an electronic knitting machine. As well as giving direct instructions

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 KnitWrite© (Complete)

to the knitting machine, Smart Symbols can be used to produce templates with the correct instructions and
charts for punch cards and Mylar sheets. Smart Symbols will result in reminders for setting the carriage,
when to change a colour, when needles need to be held etc. in Interactive Knitting.

For Fair Isle and Right / Wrong side facing texture

methods patterns with more than one Smart
symbol in one row, an error message such as the
one shown on the right is displayed when saving,
using the Check (See page 59) procedure,
printing, downloading, or at the Interactive Knitting stage.

All Smart Symbols (except the Technique Change Control) are indicated by a
pink background in the Stitch Designer palette, as shown on the left to
identify their selecting or deselecting needle properties.
Lace symbols are another type of Smart symbol and have a light green
background if the "Show attributes" box is ticked. Lace symbols are automat-
ically added to the palette when the Lace tool option is activated (See on
page 328). They will arrange lace separation when a lace carriage is installed, indicate when the Lace and
normal carriages need to be changed, and how to set them in Interactive Knitting.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be hovered
over the image. Where the cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on
as a quick way of getting to the relevant section.
Needle selection for texture stitches is based on the presence of the
Smart Symbols shown on the left.

These symbols will behave as Smart Symbols for Fair Isle and Right /
Wrong side facing texture methods, but as Memo symbols in Intarsia
and Jacquard, in which case they will not affect the needle selection.

Although the Technique Change Control symbol is not in the Smart

Symbols section of the palette it is considered to be a Smart Symbol as it
can affect the needle selection.
Smart Symbols select and deselect needles in patterns or sections of patterns based on colour and / or
texture, depending on the method of knitting.
○ Fair Isle (See page 359) stitch patterns can contain sections of texture as well as colour. Needle
selection is controlled by the colours, unless texture symbols are present. Wherever both are
present, texture symbols take precedence over colour in the row where they occur, until another
section is encountered. For this reason it is best to work with bands of either colour or texture in a
Fair Isle stitch pattern.
○ Jacquard (See page 361) stitch patterns should not include texture symbols as the needle selection
is purely based on colours.
○ For Right & Wrong side facing texture (See page 362) methods, the texture symbols control the
needle selection.

Knit & Purl

Knit and Purl are the main stitches of DesignaKnit. These two stitch symbols cannot be removed
from the palette, nor can their abbreviations and instructions be changed.

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The displayed needle selection status for Knit and Purl stitches applies only to areas of the pattern that
consist of just Knit and Purl stitches. For all sections of the pattern that contain other smart symbols, the
displayed selection status of Knit and Purl is ignored and they instead assume the opposite selection
status to the smart symbol.

This means that for patterns or pattern sections that contain 'tuck' or 'slip' symbols, both Knit and Purl
stitches select needles, while tuck and slip will be deselecting. For pattern sections that contain 'thread
lace' or 'weave' symbols, both Knit and Purl stitches are deselecting.
Whether the stitch symbols are displayed as selecting or deselecting in the palette depends on the method
of knitting.
○ In a Fair Isle or Wrong Side Facing texture pattern, the Purl stitch is shown as selecting and the Knit
stitch as deselecting.
○ In a Right Side Facing texture pattern, the Knit stitch is shown as selecting and the Purl stitch as
deselecting.
○ In a Jacquard pattern, the needle selection is governed by yarn colours and Knit and Purl symbols do
not display the selecting or deselecting marker.
Needles are selected according to the pattern that is downloaded, but what actually happens is determined
by the setting on the knitting machine carriage. When a pattern is downloaded, DesignaKnit will make sure
that the needle selection is correct, so that 'tuck' and 'slip' stitches are deselecting and 'thread lace' and
'weave' stitches are selecting. If the pattern is knitted interactively, reminders will be given when the
carriage buttons need to be set.
Where the Method of Knitting is set as Fair Isle, the default background stitch is always Knit and the colours
determine the needle selection. Only one of the colours in any one row can be selecting. If bands of texture
and Fair Isle are both used, the method should be set to Fair Isle. DesignaKnit will recognise the Fair Isle
sections and will set the needle selections for all the sections correctly. The Technique Change Control
symbol (See page 256) may be used to help control when the needles are set.

Tuck

The Tuck stitch is always deselecting. Care should be taken not to have two tuck symbols next to
each other when intending to knit on a single bed machine. If two adjacent tuck symbols are used Desig-
naKnit will present a warning on saving the stitch pattern and on opening it in Interactive Knitting. If the
pattern is intended for knitting on a double bed machine, this warning can be ignored, as long as the Ribber
is set to half pitch or (if it is set to full pitch) needles between tucked stitches are in non-working position
(meaning that they are pushed right back and not involved in the knitting process) on the main bed and in
working position (where they can be selecting or deselecting) on the Ribber bed.

Where tuck stitches have been used in a pattern, or section of a pattern, DesignaKnit will
ensure needles are selecting for all plain rows regardless of the selection status of the
colour in Fair Isle patterns. Stitches set to 'tuck' will cause the carriage to deselect the
relevant needles.

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As can be seen in the template print (See on page 390), DesignaKnit regards a plain (one
colour per row and no texture) section of knitting in between two sections where tuck
symbols have been used as part of the 'tuck' section, regardless of the needle selection
status of the colours. In the example on the left, the tuck stitches themselves are
deselecting (white), while all the other red, green and blue stitches will be selecting (black
grid cells), as they are either the 'other' stitch type on the row where tuck is used, or part of
the 'plain' section in the rest of the pattern.

Either of the two symbols can be used as tuck stitches as they carry the same instructions and if they are
both used in one row, this will not lead to the "There is more than one type of Smart Symbol" error. The
second symbol is provided as a continuation symbol to add clarity to a printed chart, so that the first symbol
may be at the top and the second in the row(s) below it.

The Tuck stitch symbol deselects the needles.

Thread lace

The Thread lace symbol can be used with Japanese machines. Thread lace is a variation of Fair Isle,
but instead of having two colours, the fine (or nylon) thread in the front feeder knits on its own on selecting
needles and combines with the main yarn on deselecting needles, creating the illusion of eyelets. Thread
lace can be used in Fair Isle and Right / Wrong side facing texture methods. As it is a Smart symbol, but not
actual lace, it can be found in the section with the pink rather than the light green background and needs to
be added to the Symbol Palette and placed in the pattern by using the Pencil tool, wherever it is needed.
Although there can generally only be one colour in a row with Smart symbol textures, Thread lace is the
exception, as this symbol can be placed on top of the second, selecting, colour. For Japanese machines,
where there are two colours in a row, this is recognised as a Fair Isle section. However, if Thread lace
symbols are also present on the selecting colour, this will be recognised by DesignaKnit and the appro-
priate instructions will be given at knitting time.
When preparing a pattern for download, if the method is set to Fair Isle, either a single colour can be used
for the entire row while this symbol is used for the needles that need to be selecting, or the symbol can be
added to the second, selecting colour.

The Thread lace symbol selects the needles.

Slip

The Slip (skipped or missed) stitch symbol is used to indicate which stitches are to be slipped, so that
the carriage passes over the stitch without knitting it. Two or more adjacent stitches can be slipped and
picked up again on a next pass of the carriage if this is required. If this is a pull-up pattern, an appropriate
memo symbol (See on page 289) can be used to indicate where the floats need to be picked up.
Slip stitches may be used to create a texture pattern. Slipping stitches on a knitting machine always causes
a horizontal strand of yarn to appear on the purl side of the fabric, whether the downloaded pattern
deselects the needles for the slipped stitches or whether the necessary needles are manually moved into
holding position or taken out of the work entirely.
In a pattern where slip stitches have been used, DesignaKnit will ensure that all plain rows have selecting
needles, regardless of the selection status of the colour in Fair Isle patterns, exactly as described for 'tuck'
stitches. Stitches set to 'slip' in DesignaKnit will cause the carriage to deselect the relevant needles.

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The Slip stitch symbol deselects the needles.

Weave

Weave stitches are used to create a weave effect by floating a weaving yarn over or under the
main yarn. The weaving yarn is caught in the needle hook and knitted with the main yarn. Weave symbols
are only appropriate for the Right Side Facing texture method on single bed machines, so that the purl side
faces the knitter.
The stitches that should be deselecting can either be left with the default purl background stitch or marked
with the Weave Under symbol to indicate that the yarn goes under the needle or is floated under more than
one needle. In addition, colours can be used to indicate the passage of the weaving yarn. When using
Right / Wrong side facing texture methods, the colours do not affect the needle selection.
For Woven Pull-up patterns, a variety of memo symbols can be chosen for printed instructions, charts and
Interactive Knitting reminders.

The 'Weave Over' symbol selects the needles, the 'Weave Under' symbol deselects the needles.

Technique Change Control

This symbol is used to indicate a change of technique to be assigned to a plain area of knitting
between two bands of coloured or textured knitting. DesignaKnit assumes the knitting technique that is
assigned to the last pattern band will continue through any plain rows of knitting until the next row with the
same or a different Smart symbol, unless a Technique Change Control symbol is encountered.
By placing this symbol on a stitch in a plain row, the technique used will be changed from that point
onwards, instead of waiting until the actual row where the Smart symbol appears. DesignaKnit will adjust
the pattern for download if necessary, and treat these plain rows as if they were part of the next section,
presenting instructions in Interactive Knitting to set the carriage accordingly.

The effect of the Technique Change Control

symbol is demonstrated on the left with a
simple Tuck pattern. Using the File / Print /
Stitch pat template menu option, selecting
the first stitch marking option together with
"Black" resulted in the pattern template that
is shown, where only the Tuck symbols are
deselecting and therefore white. All other
stitches are shown as selecting and are
therefore black.
Adding two Technique Change Control symbols, one on row 4 and the other on row 11 (see blue arrows)
marks that section as plain and deselecting in this case, until the next Smart symbol is encountered on row
12, where the Tuck symbols are again deselecting and any other stitches therefore selecting.

If the Colour Changer is switched on, Silver Reed knitting machines will automatically
reverse the needle selection, exclusively for the Fair Isle band. Other knitting machines
and devices will trigger an Interactive Knitting instruction to activate the Negative Switch.

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Placing one of these symbols just above the last technique and another one higher up on the pattern before
the next technique that is dictated by a Smart symbol or Fair Isle colours, triggers DesignaKnit to generate
an instruction to knit the rows up to the next symbol with the carriage set to Plain. This can be particularly
useful if a Fair Isle band is followed by plain rows. Without the Technique Change Control symbol, Desig-
naKnit will object to using what would have been selecting colours and will:
○ Give an instruction to set the carriage for Plain so that the needle selection is ignored and all needles
are knitted.
○ Or, if the following technique is Slip or Tuck, download all plain rows as selecting needles, while
giving a reminder that the carriage will have to be reset for these methods for them to be knitted
correctly.
The Technique Change Control symbol can be omitted altogether, it can be used to change the technique
at a chosen point, rather than let the smart symbols dictate this, or it can be used if an area of plain knitting
is required between bands of Fair Isle or textured knitting. As the effect on the selecting (black grid cells) or
deselecting (white grid cells) state on the stitch pattern can most easily be seen in a Stitch pat template
(See page 67), one has been shown next to each of the three scenarios below.

Not using Technique Change Control

The stitch pattern shown on the left is used

to demonstrate the use of the Technique
Change Control button. The pattern was
created as a Fair Isle pattern.
Rows 1 - 4 are Fair Isle
Rows 5 - 7 are plain
Rows 8 - 10 have tuck symbols
Rows 11 - 15 are plain
Rows 16 - 18 have slip symbols
Rows 19 - 20 are plain
Row 21 has Thread lace symbols
Rows 22 - 23 are plain
When the Technique Change Control is not used, DesignaKnit retains the technique dictated by a Smart
symbol or the last combination of two colours per row until it meets the next change, always going in the
direction of the knitting, upwards on the chart.
The instruction at Row 1 will set the carriage for Fair Isle, basing the selection state on the colours that are
selecting (in this case pink) or deselecting (turquoise and purple). The next instruction will be at Row 8,
where the pattern changes to include tuck stitches. DesignaKnit treats rows 5 through to 7 part of the Fair
Isle band.
If the plain stripe colours between the last row containing two colours and the first row containing tuck
symbols consist of selecting colours they would be downloaded as such, with a warning. The Check (See
page 59) option can be used to warn of difficult colour changes.

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The palette used with this stitch pattern is displayed on the left and
shows which colours and stitch symbols use selecting or deselecting
needles. The needle selection status of the colours can be changed by
the user, whereas the symbols take their cue from DesignaKnit.
At Row 8, there is an instruction to change to Tuck, and DesignaKnit will
have automatically set those needles to deselect (see blue arrow), disreg-
arding the selection status of the colours when in a Fair Isle band. Rows
8 to 15 inclusive are regarded as part of the Tuck stitch band.
At row 16 there are Slip (Skip) stitch Smart Symbols, triggering Inter-
active Knitting to produce an instruction to set the carriage for the Slip
stitch. The needles with the Slip Smart Symbols will deselect, regardless of the selection status of the
colours, while the other needles in these rows will select. As rows 19 and 20 are regarded as part of the Slip
(Skip) stitch band, all the needles in them will select.
Row 21 contains the Thread lace Smart symbol. At the start of this row there will be an instruction to set the
carriage for Thread lace. These needles will select (see red arrow). The colour used is a deselecting colour
when used for Fair Isle. If the Thread lace stitches are to be highlighted in a colour, this must be a selecting
colour in order not to conflict with the main colour.
The next Smart area is the first row of the next pattern repeat, so the instruction at Row 23 will be to set the
carriage for Fair Isle.

Change technique at a different point

If the technique needs to be changed at a

point different to where the next Smart
symbol occurs, a Technique Change
Control symbol can be placed anywhere on
the first plain row that is encountered after a
row with a Smart symbol or a Fair Isle band.
This will not affect the instructions that are
generated by the presence of Smart
Symbols or two colours in a row.
The instruction at Row 1 will set the carriage
for Fair Isle and the Technique Change
Control symbol on row 5 causes Interactive
Knitting to generate an instruction to set the
carriage for Tuck at row 5, rather than at row
8, where it would have occurred without the
Technique Change Control symbol.
The next Smart symbol is on Row 16, where Interactive Knitting will instruct the carriage to be set to Slip.
Row 11 up to and including row 15 is considered part of the Tuck band, as there is no Technique Change
Control symbol.
Another Technique Change Control symbol is located on row 19, causing DesignaKnit to determine the
next technique, which in this case is Thread lace, and apply it from that point onward. This allows the
thread to be included with the main yarn from this point. Because the Thread lace area has been extended
downwards to row 19, the main stitch needles will not select.

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The next Smart area is the first row of the next pattern is repeat, so the instruction at Row 23 will be to set
the carriage for Fair Isle.

Insert plain rows

If the next Smart symbol after a Technique

Change Control is another Technique
Change Control, Interactive Knitting will
instruct the carriage to be set to Plain at the
row on which it is placed. The second
instance of the symbol instructs Desig-
naKnit to look for the next Smart symbol.
In the example on the left, the first instruc-
tion will be to set the carriage for Fair Isle at
row 1. On row 5, the instruction will be to set
the carriage to Plain. The Technique
Change Control symbol on row 7 informs
DesignaKnit that the next technique starts
with the next Smart symbol, which in this
case happens on Row 8, where the instruc-
tion will be to set the carriage for Tuck. On
row 11, where the next Technique Change
Control symbol appears, the instruction will be to set the carriage for Plain.
The Technique Change Control symbol on row 15 marks the end of the Plain section, so the next instruc-
tion is to set the carriage to Slip on row 16. If the Technique Change Control symbol had been placed on
row 13 instead of 15, the instruction to set the carriage to Slip would have been on row 14, causing rows 14
and 15 to have downloaded as selecting.
The Technique Change Control on row 19 is not followed by another. As the next Smart symbol is Thread
lace on row 21, but the symbol is placed on row 19, the instruction to set the carriage to Thread lace will be
given at row 19.
The next Smart area is the first row of the next pattern is repeat, so the instruction at Row 23 will be to set
the carriage for Fair Isle.

Lace
Lace Smart Symbols are used specifically with the Lace tool and will be
added to the palette automatically a soon as the Lace tool button in the
Left Toolbar is clicked. The symbols are described in detail in Lace
Symbols (See page 329).
If the Lace tool is not used, these symbols can still be useful as they have
an associated texture which will be visible in Fabric Texture View.
However, if these symbols are placed by the Pencil tool rather than the
Lace tool, they will not control the selection of the needles, nor separate
the pattern for lace knitting.
The Eyelet symbol shows the empty needle where the lace eyelet will be created on the next knitted row in
full transfer lace. A solid circle is shown in machine knitting, while in hand knit patterns the symbol will show
as an open circle.
The Transfer symbols show stitches that are to be transferred to an empty needle to the right (/) or left (\).

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The Decrease symbols show stitches that are to be transferred to another needle that already contains a
stitch, to result in decreases when a sequence of transfers is complete. These decreases can be from the
right, from the left, or from both directions. The latter is a double decrease.
The Fine lace transfer symbols are applicable to Brother stitch patterns only and indicate Fine Lace trans-
fers which do not transfer the entire loop to the next needle, but share it between the original and its
adjacent needle.

As machine lace symbols work in a specific way, it is recommended to only use them for drawing
machine lace patterns. Other symbols may be used that will display a similar texture but do not govern
needle selection. E.g., the 'Empty Needle' symbol can be used instead of the lace eyelet.

Hand knit Smart Symbols

Knit and Purl 261
End of row 261
No-stitch 263
Turns 265
Multi-stitch procedures 268

In Hand knitting, the symbols that indicate a change in the knitting direction anywhere in a row are
considered Smart. The Smart symbol functions are used in both printed and Interactive Knitting instruc-
tions.
When the Hand knit method is chosen, four options are provided to cater for different background stitches.
Each of these may be chosen for specific reasons. The background stitch type determines which the
expected and unexpected stitches are, which knitting instructions and abbreviations are shown for the
symbols, determines the errors shown in Knit direction and presents a different initial Fabric Texture view
(See on page 340).
Certain Smart Symbols have embedded functions for Hand knitting that control how DesignaKnit reads the
pattern. They can be very useful in the following cases:
○ The No-stitch (See page 263) and End of row (See page 261) symbols can be used where a stitch
needs to be skipped, because it has been incorporated in a decrease, or because it does not exist
yet until it is created in an increase procedure, or where a symbol applies to a stitch plus its adjacent
stitch(es) and DesignaKnit does not need to interpret each one individually.
○ Turning symbols and Arrows can be used for Short row knitting, where a row needs to be turned
before the end of the pattern line and the remaining stitches held until such time as it is their turn
(See page 265). Short rowing can be used to create darts in a garment. A number of stitches could
be 'held', while the others are knitted as normal. As the 'held' stitches are gradually brought back into
the work, this will result in more fabric at that point, as for a bust dart.
○ Bracket and descriptive instruction symbols can be used where 'multi-stitch' procedures are
performed, such as wrapping or other complex knitting instructions, which refer to a group of
contiguous stitches. The group can be bracketed and a single instruction can be applied to it (See
page 268).

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When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be

hovered over the image. Where the cursor changes to a hand it can be
clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant section.

The Knit and Purl stitches can be expected or unexpected in hand

knitting, which is indicated by the absence or presence of a dot below the
symbol (See on page 340).
The "End of row" symbol is the only symbol in this list that is also used as
a Smart symbol in machine knitting, where it is used to indicate a
Technique change (See on page 256).
The "End of row", "No-stitch" and arrow symbols powerfully control the
final shaping of the piece and should not be used for machine knit stitch
patterns. They do not print in File / Print / Stitch pat template and will not
generate Interactive Knitting instructions as such, although an audible
alert (See page 245) can be added to any of the symbols. The instructions will be printed in File / Print /
Pattern text.

Knit and Purl

Knit and Purl are the basic stitches and cannot be changed or deleted from
the palette. As such they occupy a unique position in DesignaKnit.
All Hand knitting is based on either Knit or Purl stitches, and all stitches must
be transferred from one needle to the other. Depending on the background stitch (Stocking, Reverse
stocking or one of the Garter methods) that is chosen in the "Hand Knit Options" window (See on
page 340), stitches are either expected or unexpected in any one row. In a stitch pattern, expected stitches
are not marked, whereas unexpected stitches are marked by dots.
To keep the stitch pattern as clear and uncluttered as possible, dotted symbols are only used for
unexpected stitches, which can be either:
○ Stitches that are worked in the opposite way to the expected stitch. On what is a Knit row according
to the method, Purl stitches are unexpected and will be marked by dots, to be easily distinguished
from the blank grid cells that represent the expected stitches.
○ Types of stitches that are not basic Knit or Purl, such as increases, decreases, worked through the
back of the loop etc., can be worked knitwise or purlwise and their symbols can be plain or carry a
dot. They can be classed as expected or unexpected. On a Knit row, working two stitches together
knitwise would be expected, while working them purlwise would be unexpected. The abbreviations
and instructions of such stitches are different, depending on the method and the side of the work on
which they are used.

End of row

The presence of an "End of row" symbol prevents the pattern from being read further along the row,
and the knitting instructions continue with the next row.

DesignaKnit does not check for congruency of the placement of 'End of row' symbols. They can be used
freely and it is up to the user to check that the instructions are indeed correct.

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The process is described in some detail below with a very simple stitch pattern. The 'End of row' symbol
works similar to the hooked arrows of the 'Turn' symbols (See on page 265) but includes the stitch that the
'End of row' symbol is on.

Two 'End of row' symbol were placed in a small

stitch pattern with a few colours and Purl stitches on
a mainly Knit background. All the colours have been
assigned Yarn Symbols (See page 242) so that this
information will print in the text instructions.
The row will be read up to and including the 'End of
row' symbol and the row above (if there is one) will
be read in the opposite direction, starting with the
stitch diagonally above the one just worked, as indic-
ated in the image.
The red arrows at the sides of the stitch pattern show the direction of knitting.

The instructions that are printed

by using File / Print / Pattern text
are in the image on the left and
can be followed in conjunction
with the image above.
Knitting starts at the right side on
row 1. As this is a hand knit
pattern and the colours have
been assigned Yarn symbols,
they are present in the printout as
Yarn P, B and D. Rows 1 and 2
are worked in Knit and Purl
stitches according to the method
and the pattern. Row 2 starts with
purling 3 blue stitches, row 3
starts with knitting 2 blue stitches.
Ten stitches are knitted on row 3, then the 'End of row' symbol causes the knitting instructions beyond it to
be ignored for this row. Whether the remaining stitches are held on a separate needle, or whether a cast off
is required is dependent on what is intended by the knitter. The work is turned and the first stitch on row 4 is
a purled blue stitch. Row 4 only has instructions for 9 stitches in total, instead of the 11 that the pattern
started with. No-stitch (See page 263) symbols can be used to keep the pattern width correct. The
procedure is shown again on row 6. All stitches are worked up to and including the 'End of row' symbol,
after which the work is turned. On row 5 and row 8 the initial number of 11 stitches is resumed, unless other
symbols are used to prevent this.
The 'End of row' symbol is not suitable for circular knitting except to indicate the end of the last round.

The 'End of row' symbol has a different function in machine knitting stitch patterns, where it
indicates a change in knitting technique and will inform the user to set the carriage correctly
in Interactive Knitting when it is encountered.

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No-stitch
A pattern or pattern repeat is based on a specific number of stitches. In most cases this number remains
constant throughout, with the overall number changing only according to shaping instructions. However,
some stitch patterns can involve increasing and decreasing across the row to create texture effects, and
whilst the pattern will usually even out so that increases are matched by decreases, for some patterns it
may take one or more rows to return to the base number of stitches.
As the number of stitch cells cannot be varied within a stitch pattern, a maximum number of stitches needs
to be specified for the pattern. A 'No-stitch' symbol can be used to mark the stitches that are temporarily
removed or do not yet exist and are therefore not active in a row. This keeps the stitch pattern grid to the
correct number of stitch cells, while the knitting instructions for each row are also correct.

Either of the 'No-stitch' symbols shown on the left will omit the stitch that it is placed on from the
pattern instructions. While the first symbol is more subtle, which can be more restful to view if it is used
extensively and the second is more clearly present on a pattern, their function is identical. Which one is
used is a matter of personal preference. A few scenarios have been described below.

Variation of number of physical

stitches in one row.
In the example on the left a stitch
pattern was created in which the
number of stitches on each row altern-
ates between eight and nine. A variety
of knitting symbols has been used to
knit or purl stitches together as well as a Yarn over symbol to create stitches.
When DesignaKnit reads the pattern for the Pattern text printout, stitches with the 'No-stitch' symbol are
omitted.
The pattern is read in the direction of the arrows, starting from position (1), as knitted from left to right
needle. The first and third rows are the Right Side (RS) of the work, and the second and fourth the Wrong
Side (WS) or reverse. What is a Purl stitch on the Right side of the fabric is a Knit stitch on the Wrong side.
The printed instructions are:
Row 1: (RS) K1tbl, P1, (YO, K1tbl) twice; P1, K1tbl, P2tog
Row 2: (WS) SSP2tog, K1, P1tbl, (P1tbl, K1) twice; P1tbl
Row 3: (RS) (K1tbl, P1) twice; (YO, K1tbl) twice; P2tog
Row 4:(WS) SSP2tog, (P1tbl, K1) three times; P1tbl
Note that in rows 1 and 3 there are 9 stitches altogether, while in rows 2 and 4 there are 8 physical stitches.
The 'No-stitch' symbol indicates one of the two stitches that are worked together, while the Yarn Over
symbol indicates stitches that are created.

Adjacent to stitches that are worked together.

Another instance in which a 'No-stitch' symbol may be
used is if a symbol is used that refers to two or more
adjacent stitches, as in the image on the left where the
"TwR" symbol (see red arrow) is used to "Insert
needle from back to front between first and second
stitch and Knit second stitch, then Knit the first and slip
both off together". Inserting a 'No-stitch' symbol

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prevents DesignaKnit from including the stitch that is on the grid, but worked together with another one,
which makes the procedure clear for a charted pattern. This time the other 'No-stitch' symbol was used.
The knitting instructions are followed in the same way as above, starting on the Right Side, from the bottom
right and following 'snake' fashion upwards.
Row 1: (RS) K1, TwR, K1, TwR.
Row 2: (WS) P6.
Without the 'No-stitch' symbol, the text for Row 1 would have read: (RS) K1, TwR, K2, TwR, K1, which is
incorrect because the Twists use two stitches.

Indicating lost or gained

stitches.
The 'No-stitch' symbols can
also be used to indicate
stitches gained or lost through
increasing or decreasing. The
example on the left illustrates
a technique where a central
double decrease is used
repeatedly, decreasing the
overall width of the pattern.
Because the 'No-stitch'
symbols are omitted from the pattern text instructions they can be placed so that they represent the exact
stitches they replace, or anywhere in the row, so that they reflect the overall shape. For the knitting instruc-
tions it makes no difference as long as their number is consistent.

The Pattern text instructions for the

stitch pattern including 'No-stitch'
symbols are shown in the first image
on the left. The 'No-stitch' symbol
causes the stitches that they are on to
be ignored, resulting in the instruc-
tions showing the correct number of
stitches to be worked for each row.
The second image shows the instruc-
tions for the same stitch pattern as they would print without using the 'No-stitch' symbols. The number of
stitches stays the same for each row as DesignaKnit reads the blank grid cells as normal expected stitches,
although the central decreases are described.
It does not matter where in the row the 'No-stitch' symbols are, as long as they are present. They can be
arranged for maximum visual clarity.

Although the examples above illustrate situations where the stitch count across the row decreases, 'No-
stitch' symbols can also be used when stitches do not yet exist, but will be included when an increase
technique is used.

If the printed text results are not as expected, the number of 'No-stitch' symbols needs to be checked.
Especially where the pattern or procedure is not symmetrical, it may be easiest to place knitting symbols on
the first stitch of the sequence and the 'No-stitch' symbol(s) immediately afterwards.

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Turns

The 'Turn', 'Leftwards' and 'Rightwards' symbols shown on the left can be
used where 'Short row' knitting is necessary. Whilst it is possible to set the
outside edges of shapes to 'hold' for short-rowing, it is not possible to do
this for internal shaping. Instead, special stitch symbols can be used to indicate when the work needs to be
turned on short rows in order to create meaningful pattern text. It is important to bear in mind that, when
short rowing is used, the internal row count of the shape piece will not be accurate. This needs to be taken
into account for pattern instructions.
When 'Turn' or straight arrow symbols are placed in the pattern in a manner that does not agree with the
knitting direction, DesignaKnit will present warnings when the pattern is saved or when File / Print is
accessed. Alternatively, the Check (See page 59) option can be used prior to these actions.
For both straight and hooked arrows, knitting starts after the head of the arrow. The straight arrow is placed
in the knitting direction on the row it applies to and knitting starts immediately after the symbol. The hooked
arrow is placed facing the knitting direction and the work has to be stopped and turned when it is reached.

Additional symbols are needed on the other side of the row to achieve meaningful instructions. An
example, using 'Turn' and other symbols has been worked out below (See page 266).

Both symbols are first explained with a very simple, small and fictitious stitch pattern to illustrate their
behaviour.

The straight arrows in the example above are placed in the direction of knitting, immediately before the
stitch that is to be worked. The stitch to be worked with its knitting direction is shown by the red spot and
arrow combinations in the image. The row leading up to the arrow tail is ignored. The straight arrow
symbols only need to be used if the first stitch on the return row is not the one immediately above the stitch
last worked on.
In the image above the symbols are placed on their own and randomly, which would never be a real
scenario. It is merely used to demonstrate their behaviour.
Rows 1 and 2 are worked as usual, then the straight arrow, pointing in the direction of the knitting, is
encountered in row 3. Because of the position of the 'Leftwards' symbol there is only one stitch to work on
this row before the work needs to be turned again to continue with row 4. The starting position on row 4 is
after the 'Rightwards' symbol (see blue circle). This row is worked until the end, the work turned and the
knitting on row 5 again consists of only one stitch, due to the presence of another straight arrow. Because
there are no further 'Rightwards' or 'Leftwards' symbols until row 8, rows 6 and 7 are worked with their full
complement of stitches.

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Arrows pointing to the right need to be used on rows that are read from left to right, arrows pointing to
the left on rows that are read from right to left. The correct direction of the arrows will be checked by
DesignaKnit when the Check menu option is used or at the time of saving or printing.

The hooked arrows in the image above are placed on the stitch following the last stitch that is to be worked.
This could be viewed as 'catching' the work, then turning when the arrow is reached, and resuming knitting
with the stitch immediately above the one that was last worked (as illustrated by the red circles). This is
different from the 'End of row' symbol, where the stitch that the symbol is on is included in the procedure
and the next stitch on the following row is diagonally above (See on page 261). In this example, 9 stitches
are knitted on row 3, after which the work is turned, purling one and knitting six stitches of the row above
until the next arrow is reached. The work is turned again and worked until the end of the row 5. When the
next 'Turn' symbol is encountered on row 7, the work is turned again.

The arrow pointing to the right needs to be used on rows that are read from right to left, the arrow
pointing to the left on rows that are read from left to right. DesignaKnit will check the correct direction of
the arrows when the Check menu option is used or at the time of saving or printing.

Where short row knitting is used, instructions need to be included to start knitting the next row in the correct
place and to reintroduce the held stitches. In the following example a stitch pattern has been worked out so
that all the turns and accompanying instructions make sense.

The pattern shown on the left contains 'Turn' as well as other

symbols. 'Short rows' can be used to, e.g., create bust darts in
garment pieces. As the stitches are held, then brought back into
the work, this results in extra fabric to create more ease in this
area. It is important to realise the internal row count will not be
accurate, as the 'short row' section will actually result in one row
(see white rectangle and arrows), with extra fabric worked in to
allow for the shaping.
When the (short) row is turned, the remaining stitches are 'held'.
For the pattern text instructions to be correct, different symbols
need to used at the opposite end of the turn symbol rows, other-
wise the pattern text will indicate that the row in question will be worked to the edge of the stitch pattern grid
(see red arrows), rather than to the intended edge which is the line between the blue and pink area in this
example.
The area of the 'held' stitches has been coloured pink in order to clearly mark the 'held' stitches. Because
this colour is used outside of the area of the stitch pattern that is marked by 'Turn' and other symbols, this

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does not show up as a colour to be knitted. If the pink colour had been used inside the (blue) area marked
by the turn symbols it would have resulted in colour information in the pattern text.
To avoid gaps between the knitted and held stitches (the border between the pink and blue areas) different
symbols need to be added to result in the correct instructions. 'Meld' (see blue arrows) and 'Slip' (see pink
arrow) symbols are used to join the knitting or slip and knit stitches together.
The hooked arrow symbols are used on the rows where the stitches are to be held, as the return row starts
on the stitch immediately above the last one that is worked (see blue oval). The straight arrow symbols are
used where the knitting starts in an unexpected place, based on previous instructions. In this example the
expected next stitch, based on the 'Turn' symbol in the previous row would have been the stitch above the
'Meld' symbol (see pink circle). However, as the straight arrow is used, the actual next stitch is the slip stitch
next to it (see pink arrow).
The symbols that are used in this pattern are shown below, together with their abbreviations and instruc-
tions.

The same stitch pattern is shown below, with the Pattern text knitting instructions next to it, so they can be
compared easily.

The first two rows are worked normally, starting at the right hand side. The third row is worked until the
'Turn' symbol is encountered, when the work is turned and the next stitch is the slip stitch on row 4 (red
circle). On row 9 the 'Meld' symbol is the last stitch before the 'Turn' symbol. Normally the work would be
turned and the Knit stitch above the 'Meld' would be next in line. However, as the straight 'Rightwards'
arrow is used (see blue circle), the next stitch of row 10 is the slip stitch (see blue arrow). The same
happens in opposite direction on rows 11 and 12.

DesignaKnit will display a warning on saving the stitch pattern if it perceives a 'Turn' to be in the wrong
place.

Circular knitting - If a 'Turn', 'Leftwards' or 'Rightwards' symbol is placed while the method of knitting is set
to 'circular', DesignaKnit will revert to 'flat' knitting and read the next row after the 'Turn' symbol in the
opposite direction. The program will continue to read in alternate directions as long as Turn symbols are
used to change or confirm the direction of the pattern. If, as in sock knitting, circular knitting needs to be

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resumed and Turn symbols stopped, DesignaKnit will continue to read the pattern as circular knitting, as
long as the following rules are observed:
○ The first Turn mark, which turns the knitting into Flat instead of Circular, must be at the end of a row
that is on the Right Side of the fabric.
○ The last Turn mark must be at the end of a Wrong Side row, which ensures that the Right Side will be
the front of the fabric as it was before the Flat knitting section was started. If there is no 'Turn' mark at
the end of that row, Circular knitting is resumed.
○ If Arrows are used to determine the position of the first stitch of a Flat knitted short row, the last arrow
must be at the beginning of a Right Side row and should be the row following the last Turn symbol.

Multi-stitch procedures
Knitting patterns can involve working a range of stitches in a particular manner to create certain effects.
Such procedures are often repeated in the pattern. Stitch Cables (See page 302) are one type of such a
multi-stitch procedure for which DesignaKnit provides ready made instructions, but other types can be
used or created, such as wrapped stitches, multiple twists, knitting beads into the work or any other custom
designed techniques.
As it may not be practical or feasible for the printed instructions to repeat for each individual stitch, brackets
and other symbols have been provided to incorporate an entire procedure into one instruction. For the
knitting instructions (both printed and in Interactive Knitting) this means that e.g., "Knit 1, Knit the next five
stitches, slip these onto a double-pointed needle, wrap the yarn 3 times around. Slip the stitches back onto
the right needle, Knit 1." can be condensed into one instruction "Wrap5K".

The symbols shown on the left can be used where multi-stitch procedures need to
be applied. They are used in pairs to enclose the range of stitches that are involved
in the procedure. Other symbols may be used within the bracketed area to help illus-
trate the pattern element, but are not necessary.

The brackets are Smart Symbols in Hand knitting. DesignaKnit will present a warning if brackets are not
paired or paired incorrectly. If the method is machine knitting, this check is not performed and brackets
are memo symbols.

Each individual bracket can have a different abbreviation and description and, depending on whether it is
encountered on the Right or Wrong side of the work this can result in different instructions. This makes the
system very versatile. However, care needs to be taken in applying each bracket in the correct place.

Brackets must be used in their correct pairs (two

curved or two straight as shown on the left) for Desig-
naKnit to recognise the enclosed stitches as being
part of a multi-stitch procedure. Pairs of curved and
straight brackets may both be used in the same
pattern.
The stitches that the brackets are placed on are part
of the procedure, and this needs to be reflected in the
instructions that are attached to each bracket that is
used. In the example shown on the left, each of the
six procedures involves seven stitches.
The opening bracket is the first bracket of each pair
that is encountered, which starts the multi-stitch

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procedure. In this example this is the straight bracket on rows 2, 4, 7 and the curved bracket on rows 10, 12
and 13 (see blue circles around some of these).
The range of stitches that is enclosed by two brackets forms the pattern element that instructions can be
attached to. This pattern element is given an abbreviation and text instruction by using the Text Editor to
create meaningful text for each opening bracket.
Any symbols can be used between the brackets to enhance the chart, but when text instructions are
printed, only the instruction attached to the opening bracket will be generated, while any text associated
with the closing bracket and any symbols enclosed between the brackets will be ignored, even if they would
normally generate instructions.
In the example above the method used is Flat knitted stocking stitch, starting on the Right Side (RS). In
order to create the correct knitting instructions the process needs to be thought through carefully. As
different instructions can be applied to each bracket and only the opening bracket's instructions are gener-
ated, all four of them could, in theory, be used for different instructions. The custom procedures that are
used for this example are wrapping techniques and adding beads to the fabric, but any techniques can be
freely designed and applied.
The instructions for the multi-stitch procedures on rows 2 and 4 will be identical as they are on the same
(WS) side of the fabric, but the same straight bracket pair has a different instruction on row 7 as the
opening bracket is on the other (RS) side of the pattern. The procedures on rows 10 and 12 are identical as
they are both on the WS of the fabric. The procedure on row 13 that looks identical to the one on row 12 is
in fact different (See page 271) because the opening bracket is on the other side. Different instructions are
associated with each of the brackets.
The procedures that have been created for this example are described as follows:
○ Beading: "Knit two stitches, make a loop of the yarn and string a bead onto this, push the needle
through the loop at the top of the bead and knitwise through the next stitch, knit them together, knit
two stitches."
○ Wrap5K: "Knit 1, Knit the next five stitches, slip these onto a double-pointed needle, wrap the yarn 3
times around. Slip the stitches back onto the right needle, Knit 1."
○ Wrap7P: "Purl the next 3 stitches, Knit 1, Purl 3, slip all 7 onto double-pointed needle, wrap the yarn
twice around, slip the stitches back onto the right needle."

The instructions need to

be typed next to the
correct symbol in the
Text Editor (See page
295) of the Stitch
Symbols Organizer.
They only need to be
typed into whichever
side of the fabric is
affected. For the
"Beading" and
"Wrap7P" instructions in
this example, this will be on the Wrong Side (WS), while the "Wrap5K" instructions only apply to the Right
Side (RS).
In this example, the left and right straight bracket carry abbreviations and instructions on one side only,
while the other side is left blank (see red ovals). It is not necessary to delete instruction text from a symbol
that is not used, but it can provide a clearer overview. For the curved brackets, there is only one abbre-

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viation on the left bracket (see blue ovals). Although there is text in the left curved bracket on the RS (see
blue arrow) this instruction will never print because there is no abbreviation for it!
In this example, a colour and the B (Bead) symbol have been used on row 4 to represent the procedure and
the bead that is to be added to the pattern. This is purely illustrative, as the symbol's instructions will not
print because it is within the brackets of a multi-stitch procedure. Any memo symbol or colour could have
been used instead, or the area between the brackets could have been left blank, as it was in row 2. The
abbreviations (K1tbl, P1tbl) of the symbol that was used to illustrate the stitches that are to be wrapped in
the "Wrap5K" procedure on row 7 (see red arrows) have been removed. This means they will not generate
any text or knitting instructions, even if they are used outside of the multi-stitch procedure in this pattern.

Symbols without an abbreviation will not show up in pattern text or Interactive Knitting instructions.

After entering the Abbreviations and Instructions the stitch pattern file needs to be saved before the pattern
text can be printed (See on page 69). If these procedures are to be used more often, it is good practice to
save the symbols file (See page 299) with a descriptive name, so it is easily identified for future use. When
returning to the stitch pattern, the box to "Apply the changes to the stitch pattern file" needs to be ticked and
the stitch pattern saved.
Instructions can be as verbose as needed and will be printed in the "Key to Symbols". This can either be
printed on its own with the File / Print / Key to Symbols menu option or as part of the Pattern text file by
using the "Print" button on the Left Toolbar, or the File / Print / Stitch pat text menu option. The symbols,
together with their abbreviations and instructions are shown below.

The bracket
symbols used
in this multi-
stitch
procedure
have been
given abbre-
viations that
are longer than
one character.
If the abbreviation had consisted of only one character, such as "B" for Beading, the "Pattern text" instruc-
tions would read "B1" instead of "Beading" (as shown in the image below) as the symbol would have been
applied to one stitch, in the same way that "K1" means that the Knit stitch is applied to one stitch. As the
multi-stitch procedure covers more stitches by definition, although the symbol itself is only applied to one
stitch, it is recommended to give more than one character to these kind of symbols to keep clarity in the
instructions.

The generated "Pattern text" instructions are shown on the left. Read
together with the Symbols and Abbreviations the stitch pattern is now
concise and easier to read than if the entire instructions were printed on
each applicable row.

The number of stitches (K10, P10) is only obvious on the rows that carry
no multi-stitch procedure, and the procedure itself has to include the
correct number of stitches!

As any symbols and instructions between the brackets are ignored, the
knitting instructions for rows 2 and 4, as well as for rows 10 and 12 are
identical, even though different symbols are placed in the stitch pattern

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itself. Therefore it is not necessary to change the text of, in this example, the "B" symbol as it will not appear
in the knitting instructions. The symbol is merely used to represent a bead in the middle of the procedure.
Row 13 has the instruction to Knit 3 stitches, which at first glance is incorrect. However, given that there are
no abbreviations attached to the right curved bracket, and that it therefore does not appear in the stitch
symbols, abbreviations or instructions, coupled with the fact that all symbols are ignored between paired
brackets, DesignaKnit only prints instructions for the remaining three stitches in that row, which are the Knit
stitches either side of the brackets.

When the "Stitch pat picture"

option is selected in the Print
menu, only the colours will be
shown, as shown in the first image
on the left. Stitch symbols will be
printed in a chart when the "Stitch
pat symbols" option is chosen, as
long as the stitch representation is
set to 'Stitch symbols' and not '
Yarn colour symbols'. In both
these prints row numbering was
switched on and a grid thickness of
"1" was selected.
More detailed information about all
the possible different print formats
and their options can be found in Setup for chosen format (See page 372).

Brackets need to be used in pairs of the same bracket type and on the same row for Desig-
naKnit to recognise the instructions between them as multi-stitch procedures.

Memo Symbols
Stitch types 273
Increases 278
Decreases 283
Needle positions 286
Double bed 287
Miscellaneous 289

Memo symbols are all the symbols in the KnitWrite© font that are not Smart Symbols. They can be used to
indicate specific techniques, such as increases, decreases, different stitch types or to draw attention to a
certain part of the work. Their abbreviations and instructions can enhance Pattern text prints, while the
symbols themselves can add clarity to a printed chart and show up in Interactive Knitting.

Although Smart Symbols could be used as Memo symbols, this is not recommended as
they carry specific functions within their method and it is recommended to keep the use of
Smart Symbols for their intended use.

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Memo symbols will only show in the Pattern text printout if they have an abbreviation, regardless of
whether they also have an instruction.
The KnitWrite© font contains default abbreviations and instructions for most of the hand and some of the
machine knit symbols. All of these, except the Knit and Purl stitches, can be changed by using the Text
Editor in the Symbols Organizer if required. As different abbreviations and instructions can be attached to
the same symbol in machine and hand knitting methods, care needs to be taken to choose the correct
method.
Which instructions belong to which method for which symbol can be seen in the Text Editor (See page 295)
in the Symbols Organizer (See page 243), where abbreviations and instructions can also be changed if
required.
How abbreviations and descriptions can differ for hand and machine knitting is shown in the image below.
In this example all the symbols are more applicable to hand knitting and none of them have text in the
machine knitting view. If a stitch symbol is marked with a little blue triangle in the bottom left corner (see
blue circle), there is no abbreviation attached to it, which means there will be no instructions for it either in
the Pattern text printout or in Interactive Knitting.

To see instructions for all the symbols, the "Text" button needs to be clicked in the Stitch Symbols Organ-
izer, after which the "Show only the stitch symbols that are selected for this palette" box needs to be
unticked to display all the symbols, regardless of whether they are included in the palette. The 'method'
drop down triangle (see blue arrow) can be clicked to choose a different method. The symbols window
stays in the same place, making it easy to compare the instructions for the different methods (see red
arrows).

Symbols can mean different things for Machine or Hand knitting

methods, with different abbreviations and instructions, as can be
seen in the image on the left. This difference can be used to
create detailed, specific instructions.
If the same stitch pattern is used for machine as well as hand
knitting, the instructions need to be looked over to ensure they
make sense for both.

Although properties can easily be changed for Memo symbols, it is good practice to only
change them for symbols that have no abbreviations or instructions to keep the symbols as
uniform and unambiguous as possible across all patterns.

Memo symbols can be superimposed onto any colour for Fair Isle, Intarsia or Jacquard knitting. In the Fair
Isle method the colours control the selection of needles and Memo symbols can be used on either colour in

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a row. Smart Symbols control the selection of needles in Right / Wrong side facing texture methods. Memo
symbols can be placed in the pattern without affecting needle selection and colours can be used to
highlight any part of the stitch pattern as long as they are transparent.
As there is a wealth of Memo symbols to choose from, they have been sorted into various categories to
give an impression of how they can be used, but as the abbreviations and instructions can be altered, the
symbols can be used in any way that suits individual requirements.

Stitch types
The symbols collated here are mostly applicable to hand knitting, but can be used for machine knit patterns
wherever the stitch type applies and where relevant, this is mentioned.

Slip stitch

In hand knitting, every stitch must somehow be passed from one needle
to the next. If the stitch is not to be worked, and it does not form part of a
decrease or multi-stitch procedure, it must be slipped. Whether a stitch is
to be slipped knitwise on a knit row or purlwise on a purl row depends on
whether there should be a twist in the stitch or not.
If a stitch is slipped knitwise on a knit row, it places a twist on it and when
it is worked on the return row there will be a bias in it. Slipping a stitch
purlwise on a knit row keeps the stitch straight, as if it had been worked
normally and on the return row it will present in the same way as the other stitches. It is important to
indicate whether a stitch is to be slipped knitwise or purlwise, so that the desired effect is obtained.
Stitches can be slipped as part of a more complex procedure, such as a sloping decrease, in which case
the instruction of how to slip the stitch(es) is part of the total instruction attached to the symbol for that
process, but for slipping a single stitch onto the working needle, the top two symbols in the image above
could be used.
Another aspect of hand knit slipped stitches is whether the yarn should be in the expected place at the time
of slipping, which is at the back for a knit row, and at the front for a purl row. If this is the case, the top two
symbols apply. However, if the pattern requires the yarn to be at the unexpected side, this should be made
clear. The lower two symbols are provided to indicate that the yarn should be in front or at the back of the
work before slipping the stitch.

Generally abbreviations and

instructions are different for
the Right and Wrong side of
the work, as can be seen in the
instructions for the Decrease
symbol on the left, where the
instructions include the word
'Purl' on only one side of the
work (see red ovals).
For the Slip stitch symbols however, the dot means purlwise, whichever side of the work it is on (see blue
ovals).

The Smart symbol for the machine slip stitch affects needle selection on knitting machines and
should not be used for hand knitting.

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Twisted stitch

Biased stitches can be produced by working through the back of the stitch
or changing the direction of the yarn. For a bias to the left (when looking at
the front of the fabric), the stitch is worked through the back of the loop to
twist it. The top two symbols can be used for this.
For a bias to the right (when looking at the front of the fabric), the stitch
needs to be worked in the normal way, through the front, while reversing
the direction in which the yarn is taken around the needle to form the next
stitch. This means that for a knit stitch, the yarn goes top to bottom over
the needle, and for a purl stitch it goes bottom to top. The bottom two symbols can be used for this.
All four symbols shown can be used to indicate which twist is to be worked and whether the yarn is to be
taken around the needle from front or back of the work. The symbols without the dot are the expected
stitches. The instructions take into account whether the pattern is worked on the Right or Wrong side, so
that "K1tbl" reads "Knit, taking yarn over rather than under needle" for a Knit row and "Purl, taking yarn
under rather than over needle" for a Purl row. The unexpected stitches, marked by the dot, have the
reverse instructions.

If the direction of the yarn were to be reversed while working through the back of the loop, the stitch
would remain straight. This means that left bias stitches can be twisted by reversing the yarn direction,
and right bias stitches by knitting through the front of the stitches.

As stitches on a knitting machine are always presented facing the knitter, there is no way of choosing to knit
into the front or back of the stitch. The yarn which forms the new stitch can only be laid across the hook of
the needle, so twisted or biased stitches cannot be formed in the same way as for hand knitting. Stitches
can be biased manually by removing them individually with a transfer tool, twisting and then replacing
them. If this is required, the symbols can be used to indicate the direction of the twist.
Where this symbol appears as part of another symbol, such as for increasing or decreasing stitches it indic-
ates that 'through back of the loop' forms part of the instruction.

Crossed stitch

The symbols shown on the left can be used to indicate a variety of stitch
crossings. Stitches can be crossed in front or behind the one following.
While the first four symbols are identical to a 1x1 stitch cable (See on
page 302) the others involve twisting one or both of the crossed stitches.
Although this requires a certain dexterity with the working needle, a cable
or double pointed needle is not necessary.
The way that the stitches are crossed can be seen in the symbol. The
unexpected Purl version is only present for the first two basic untwisted
crossed stitches (see red circles). The texture is at its best when the
stitches are worked knitwise, but different versions may be invented,
using one or more of these symbols and editing the instructions accord-
ingly.
The default instructions are very verbose, as these stitches are quite involved. As an example, the 'TwL'
symbol and its unexpected version have been shown below with their instructions for both Right side and
Wrong side. The abbreviations change for each side. The RS abbreviation and instruction for 'TwL' are
identical to the WS abbreviation and instruction for the unexpected 'TwRP' symbol (see red circles).

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○ TwL (RS) - Insert needle from front to back between first and second stitch and Knit second, then
Knit the first and slip both off together
○ TwRP (WS of the TwL symbol) - Insert left needle from back to front between first and second stitch,
Purl second stitch, then Purl first stitch and slip both off together
○ TwR (RS) - Insert needle from back to front between first and second stitch and Knit second stitch,
then Knit the first and slip both off together
○ TwLP (WS of the TwR symbol) - With left needle in front of first stitch, Purl into the second stitch,
then the first and slip both off together
As one symbol can only be placed on one grid cell in the pattern and cannot traverse both stitches that are
involved, different symbols may need to be used to clarify the pattern text instructions. The No-stitch (See
page 263) symbol can be used to generate sensible text and charts. In addition to the more graphic
symbols, basic crossed stitches have been provided (see blue oval) as they are useful for a plainer chart or
for machine knitting memo symbols. If these memo stitches are used for machine knitting charts, any
crossing and twisting would need to be done manually as they have no default abbreviations or instruc-
tions.

Long stitch

When a stitch is formed, a loop of yarn is pulled through an existing stitch

to create a new one. A long stitch is created by wrapping the yarn around
the needle two or more times, pulling all the loops through the old stitch
and dropping them on the return row, when the stitch is worked normally.
This is a way of changing the length (or height) of a stitch without greatly
affecting the width. The more times the yarn is wrapped around the
needle, the longer the eventual stitch will be. Undulating patterns can be
made by varying the length of the long stitches. More wraps results in
more length.
The symbols shown represent possible long stitches by using a number
of wraps. Keeping in mind that one wrap is for the stitch itself, the first two symbols (LS / LSP) mean that
the yarn is wrapped around twice! The dotted symbol represents the unexpected stitch, which is purlwise
on a knit row and knitwise on a purl row.
Symbols have been provided to indicate wrapping around the needle 3 times (DLS / DLSP), 4 times (YRN3
/ YRN3P), 5 times (YRN4 / YRN4P), as well as the last two symbols (YRN* / YRN*P) which can be edited to
cater for even more wraps if needed.
These symbols may also be useful to represent multiple wrapped increases which will later be decreased.
In order to retain the single stitch column temporary stitch symbols can be used to indicate what should
happen to those stitches collectively (See on page 281).

Knit / Purl Below stitch (Tuck)

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This technique creates a different texture in the fabric by not working the
actual stitch that is next in line on the left needle, but one in a row below it.
The stitches on either side of a 'Knit (or Purl) Below' stitch need to be
normal stitches so that the fabric is held together.
Instead of working into the next stitch on the needle, the working needle is
inserted into the centre of the stitch on the row below. The stitch is then
knitted or purled, after which both stitches are slipped off the needle. The
stitch above seems to unravel, but its loop is caught and held in the yarn
forming the new stitch. A deeper texture can be formed by working into
the stitch two or more rows below, and symbols have been provided to
indicate this.
The symbols in the image have been provided to represent knitting or purling a stitch in the row immedi-
ately below or further down in the work. 'K1b' indicates the row immediately below, 'K3B' indicates three
rows down. For 'K*B' any required number can be filled in by using the Text Editor (See page 295).
On a Knit row, where the 'K1b' symbol represents the expected stitch (see red oval), the instructions are to
Knit into the centre of the stitch on the row below, dropping the stitch above as it is transferred. On a Purl
row, the same symbol means to Purl into the centre of the stitch on the row below, dropping the stitch
above as it is transferred to the right needle. On a Knit row, where the 'P1b' stitch represents the
unexpected stitch (see blue oval), the instructions are to Purl into the centre of the stitch on the row below,
dropping the stitch above as it is transferred, while on a Purl row this is the other way around.

Where this symbol (see pink circle) is part of another symbol, such as for Increase (See page 281) or
Meld (See on the facing page) symbols, it indicates that part of the procedure involves knitting or purling
into the centre of the stitch below.

While the knitted result of this technique is equivalent to the machine knit tuck stitch, there are differences
in how hand and machine tucks are achieved by DesignaKnit.
○ In machine knitting, the stitch to be tucked is deselected for as many rows as the tuck needs to be.
The tuck is finally achieved when the needle is selected and worked normally. The Smart 'Tuck'
symbol must be used on the rows when the needle is tucking, while on the row where it is actually
performed, the background stitch must be used, so that the tucks are picked up by the carriage.
○ In hand knitting, the 'Knit (or Purl) Below' stitch symbol is placed on the row of the stitch that needs to
be tucked.
Machine tuck symbols (see red rectangle) can be used for hand knit patterns, but as they are Smart
Symbols that control needle selection in machine knitting this is not recommended. Therefore these
symbols only have default abbreviations for the machine knitting method and not for the hand knitting
methods. The Knit and Purl Below symbols shown in the image above are much better alternatives for
hand knitting.

Pick up stitch

This symbol, although similar to the machine tuck symbol, is intended to

be used for picking up and knitting or purling stitches. Situations in which
this symbol is useful:
○ To indicate stitches that need to be brought back into the work. They may have been previously been
cast off or held, such as for picking up stitches of another garment piece or part of the pattern. These
symbols can be used as an alternative to cast on symbols (See page 251). If it is used in this way, it
is also a useful memo symbol for machine knitting.

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○ To be used as an alternative to the 'Knit Below' symbol. Especially when the head of the stitch is only
lifted (whether from the front or back of the fabric) and either worked together with or instead of the
stitch on the needle, depending on whether a tucked stitch or a ridge or pleat is created.
The dot on the second symbol indicates, as usual, the unexpected stitch, which, on a Knit row is "Pick up
and Purl" (PUP) and on a Purl row "Pick up and Knit" (PUK).

Where this symbol (see pink circle) is part of another symbol, such as for Lifted Increase (See page
281) or Meld (See below) symbols, it indicates that part of the procedure involves knitting or purling into
the centre of the stitch below.

Joins

These symbols are primarily used for hand knitting, but their shapes make them
useful to indicate methods and slants of melding stitches onto needles in machine
knitting as well, even though their knitting instructions will not match. The dots on
the second set of symbols indicate unexpected stitches in hand knitting, but are
meaningless for machine knitting.
Working back to gather all the stitches back onto one row can easily lead to gaps, holes or loose stitches. A
common way to overcome the problem of unwanted gaps when picking up held stitches is to wrap around
the last stitch, pick up this loop and work it together with the first held stitch. The instructions of symbols can
be amended to reflect this procedure. However, the methods already assigned to the symbols shown here
provide elegant ways of avoiding gaps.
Melding (combining) the last worked stitch with the first held stitch, either by working the final stitch together
with the head of the stitch below the held stitch or by pulling a loop through the centre of the stitch below is
a very effective way to avoiding gaps. These symbols are designed to do just that. The symbols with curved
tops indicate picking up the top of the loop (head) of the stitch, and the symbols with square tops indicate
knitting into the centre of the stitch on the row below. The first of these is very neat and works best if the first
stitch of every row where short rowing applies is slipped down purlwise.
From left to right, top to bottom the default instructions for each 'Melding' symbol are:
○ Meld-L = Use left needle to pick up head of last stitch on right needle, and replace on right needle,
slip 1 Purlwise, insert left needle into both loops and K2tog tbl
○ Meld-R = Slip next stitch Purlwise onto right needle. Use right needle to lift head of stitch below next
stitch on left needle. Insert left needle into both loops and K2tog tbl
○ Meld-LP = Use left needle to pick up head of last stitch on right needle, and replace on right needle,
slip 1 Purlwise, insert left needle into back of both loops and P2tog
○ Meld-RP = Slip next stitch Purlwise and use right needle point to lift head of stitch below next one on
left needle. Slip left needle through the back of the loops and P2tog
○ Meld-LB = Use left needle to pull loop through stitch below last stitch on right needle, and replace on
right needle, slip 1 Purlwise, insert left needle into both loops and K2tog tbl
○ Meld-RB = Slip next stitch Purlwise onto right needle. Use right needle to pull loop through stitch
below next stitch on left needle. Insert left needle into both loops and K2tog tbl
○ Meld-LPB = Slip next stitch Purlwise onto right needle. Use right needle to pull loop through stitch
below next stitch on left needle. Insert left needle into both loops and P2tog
○ Meld-RPB = Use left needle to pull loop through stitch below last stitch on right needle, and replace
on right needle, slip 1 Purlwise, insert left needle into both loops and K2tog tbl

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Increases
The number of stitches in a row can be increased in several ways, and each method has its own symbols
that are most useful and descriptive. All the symbols are memo symbols which will not affect needle selec-
tion in machine knitting, but they will result in meaningful Pattern text and Interactive Knitting instructions
because of their default abbreviations and instructions.
The abbreviations and instructions can be changed in the Text Editor (See page 295) for any stitch
symbols. Saving the stitch pattern will save the amended abbreviations and instructions with it.

An increase symbol on a grid cell in a pattern produces the instruction to increase, but does not in any
way alter the stitch pattern grid. If the stitch pattern is 10 stitches wide, placing four increase symbols
does not make it 14 stitches wide. To cater for this, the initial grid needs to be as wide as the stitch
pattern is going to be and No-stitch or other distinctive symbols should be placed on any grid cells for
stitches that do not yet exist. As an increase symbol is placed, a No-stitch symbol should be removed to
keep the pattern width correct at all times.
Cast on

The first two symbols are used for a simple loop cast on. A loop of yarn is
twisted onto the right (CO R) or left (CO L) needle and is worked as a
normal stitch on the next row.
The Cast on: Knit method symbol is used where a loop is made on the left
needle which is knitted and placed back on to the left needle. This stitch is
then used to make the next one. The cast on is completed by knitting
across all the stitches to form the first (usually right side) row. The Cast
on: Purl method is the same, except that the stitches are all purled instead
of knitted. Casting on is usually done knitwise regardless of the side of the
work this is used. However, it can be done purlwise, for which the symbol
with the dot is specifically provided.
Casting on using the cable method is based on the basic Knit method, but to give a tighter edge, instead of
inserting the working needle into the last stitch formed, it is inserted between the last two stitches on the
right needle. The stitch is worked and replaced onto the left needle. Cast on is completed by knitting the
next row, which is usually the right side.
The 'long tail' method is also known as 'Thumb and Knit'. Unlike the other methods, the casting on process
places the stitches on the right needle and, as they have been worked, this usually counts as the first row of
the fabric. The next row is usually a wrong side row.

Invisible cast on is useful if, after continuing the knitting, stitches will be picked up to work in the
opposite direction. This is used to work around a spare piece of yarn or the flexible part of a circular needle
- especially for 'toe-up' socks. This symbol has a default machine knit instruction: "Cast on with Waste
Yarn" which is equivalent to invisible casting on.

Yarn over or around the needle

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The curved symbols shown here should not be confused with the
machine knitting Needle positions (See page 286) symbols. They do not
carry abbreviations or instructions for machine knitting, but could be used
to indicate different procedures as required.
The open and solid circle symbols (see red circles) represent "Empty
needle" and "Lace tool eyelet" respectively for machine knitting and have
their own abbreviations and instructions. The open Yarn Over symbol will
read "EN - Empty Needle: after transfer, leave empty needle in working
position". The solid Yarn Over symbol is the lace eyelet Smart symbol
which should only be used for machine lace knitting (See on page 259).
Wrapping yarn over or around the needle is way of increasing the number
of stitches for hand knitting. Before working the next stitch, the yarn is brought over the needle. This makes
a loop which will form an eyelet when it is worked on the next row. The direction in which the yarn is
wrapped is mainly determined by whether the yarn is at the front or back of the work. This is determined by
the type of stitch that is worked before and needs to be worked after.
The open 'Yarn Over' symbol shown at the top of the list is used most often, but there may be instances
when it is preferable to specify how the loop is formed and the curved symbols have been provided to cater
for this. Of the four, only two have abbreviations and instructions. These may be changed and any new
ones may be added to the blank symbols, as needed, to clarify the exact actions to be taken when this
symbol is encountered in a stitch pattern. They can be interpreted as follows:
○ Open Yarn Over Increase (oyo) - Bring yarn forward under the needle and then over to Knit the next
stitch
○ Second symbol - Take yarn back under the needle then over to Purl the next stitch
○ Twisted Yarn Over Increase (twyo) - Bring yarn over the needle to front, then under to Knit the next
stitch
○ Fourth symbol - Take yarn over the needle and then under to Purl the next stitch

Although the solid 'Yarn Over' symbol is present in this list and could be used in hand knitting, it is really
a Lace eyelet Smart symbol with different functionality in machine knitting. To avoid any confusion
between patterns, it is often best to use one of the other symbols.

Stitch between two existing stitches

Stitches can be created between existing stitches by picking up the

horizontal bar between two stitches and working into it. In order to prevent
a visible hole, the strand can either be twisted or it can be worked into
from the back. This kind of increase is usually done where a leaning or
biased increase is not desired and is therefore particularly suitable for
increasing evenly across a row, for instance on or after the last row of rib.
As these procedures are possible for machine knitting, although a lot of
transferring may be involved, default instructions have been provided for
these symbols.
The lower two symbols include a loop such as used in the Twisted stitch (See page 274) as they include
'back of loop' in their instruction, which is shown by the presence of a loop in the symbol itself. The symbols
with the dot indicate that the stitch is worked in the unexpected way, which is purlwise on a Knit row and
knitwise on a Purl row.

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○ M1 - Right side (RS) instruction: Insert needle from front under horizontal bar between last stitch on
right needle and next on left and Knit. The Wrong side (WS) instruction is identical to the RS instruc-
tion of the M1P symbol
○ M1P - (RS) instruction: Insert needle from back under horizontal bar between last stitch on right
needle and next on left and Purl. The (WS) instruction is identical to the RS instruction of the M1
symbol
○ M1tbl - (RS) instruction: Use left needle to pick up horizontal bar between last stitch on right needle
and next on left from front, Knit into the back of loop. The (WS) instruction is identical to the RS
instruction of the M1Ptbl symbol
○ M1Ptbl - (RS) instruction: Use left needle to pick up horizontal bar between last stitch on right needle
and next on left from front, Purl into the back of loop. The (WS) instruction is identical to the RS
instruction of the M1tbl symbol

Increases from a single stitch

A common reason for increasing from a single stitch is to create a slanted increase, or pairs of increases
that slant in opposite directions, whether as a shaping feature or as part of a stitch pattern.

Although it is not always practical to do this for machine knitting, there are
symbols (rows 1, 2 and 6) that can be used. The abbreviations and
instructions that are shown in the image may not be present in the
Machine knitting method. They have merely been provided as information
to add clarity to the possible usage of the symbols.
The increase symbols shown here are slanted to the left or right, and
additionally some are knitwise or purlwise (as indicated by the dot in the
symbol).
Generally, increases of this type are worked either on odd or on even
numbered rows, so there is at least one row between increases to consol-
idate the stitches. It is also usually easier to work on the knit side because
knit procedures tend to be easier than purl. However, there can be good
reasons to work the purl version, either because it fits in with the pattern
or because the increases are in fact being worked on both knit and purl rows.
When placing slanting increase symbols on the Stitch Designer grid, the ones that are correct for the fabric
as it is looked at should be selected. If a flat knitting technique is used with increases on both sides, the
instructions will be to produce the actual slant, and may in fact be opposite to the drawn symbol. E.g., a "/"
slant on the Right Side is worked as "\" on the Wrong Side. The correct instructions are taken care of in the
abbreviations and instructions of the symbol for both RS and WS.

The RS abbreviations and instructions of a symbol without a dot (expected stitch) are generally the WS
abbreviations and instructions of the same symbol with a dot (unexpected stitch). The symbol with the
dot is used when it is unexpected according to the method of knitting.

○ Row (1) - the top two symbols are used as general symbols to indicate right or left slanting increases
for both machine and hand knitting.
○ Row (2) - the "Inc" symbol is used to increase knitwise or purlwise into the next stitch, where no
particular slant is indicated. Both symbols carry the instruction "single increase" for machine knitting.
○ Row (3) - "IncKP" indicates "Knit, then Purl into next stitch", while its counterpart indicates the other
way around. There are no default machine knit instructions.

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○ Row (4) and (5) - "IncFB" indicates to "Knit into front, then back of next stitch", while "IncBF" instructs
to "Knit into back, then front of next stitch". The equivalent symbols with the dot instruct the same, but
with the Purl stitch. As knitting into front and back are not applicable to machine knitting, the instruc-
tions are only given for the hand knitting methods.
○ Row (6) and (7) - all four "YRinc" symbols can be used for machine and hand knit procedures and
are useful in hand knitting for flat knitted edge shaping, especially for traditional lace patterns. The
instructions read "Yarn round needle, Knit (or Purl) into next stitch". Yarn is brought round the needle
at the start of the row, before working the first stitch to form a loop at the outside edge of the fabric.
This is ideal for picking up when knitting the edging, because it will be worked only on every other
row (usually against a garter stitch background). Only the first two YRinc symbols carry Machine knit
abbreviations and instructions, of which the first (see red circle) reads "WrpIncR - Bring additional
needle into WP at left end of needle bed so yarn will wrap on next pass".

The symbols shown on the left are used to indicate that the stitch below
the next stitch is worked. The symbols with the rounded tops are similar to
the Pick up stitch (See page 276) and the ones with the square tops to the
Knit / Purl Below stitch (Tuck) (See page 275).
The rounded symbols indicate that the head of the stitch below is worked
on, which is a transferred increase where the head of the stitch below is
placed on the empty needle to the left or right of the current stitch. The
squared symbols are worked into the centre of the stitch below, before or
after the stitch above, according to the symbol.
The symbols that slant to the left work the stitches from the left to the right needle, while the ones that slant
to the right leave the first stitch that is worked on the left needle and pick up the stitch below from the back
of the work. As an example the abbreviations and instructions of the top two symbols (left and right) are
shown below:
○ LincL (RS) - "Lifted Increase: Left: K into head of stitch below next stitch, then into next stitch". (WS -
LincPR) "Slip 1 Purlwise. Use left needle to lift head of stitch below, then insert left needle tip into
back of slipped stitch, Purl it then Purl lifted loop"
○ LincR (RS) - "Lifted Increase: Right: K into next stitch, but leave stitch on left needle. Take right
needle behind work and Knit into head of stitch below. Slip both loops off together." (WS - LincPL)
"Lifted Increase: Purl into head of stitch below next stitch, then into next stitch"
Only the symbols with the rounded tops have default abbreviations and instructions for the machine knit
method, as stitches could manually be picked up from the row below. The machine knitting instruction for
the first symbol (see red circle) reads: "Pick up head of stitch on row below and place on empty needle at
left."

Multiple stitch increases

Multiple stitch increases are not often used in machine knitting as it would
involve a lot of transferring of stitches unless the stitches to be increased
were at the outside of the garment piece. In order to be complete, some of
the multiple stitch increase symbols have been displayed in the image on
the left.
The abbreviations and instructions that are shown in the image may not
be present in the Machine knitting method. They have merely been
provided as information to add clarity to the possible usage of the
symbols.

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As well as single increases, multiple increases can be achieved from one stitch. The symbols shown on the
left can be used to indicate increases where three stitches are created from one original stitch.
The top symbol is used for a general double increase, without further directions. In turn, the next sets of
symbols instruct to "Knit, Purl, Knit (and Purl, Knit, Purl) into the next stitch", "Knit (or Purl) into front, back
and front of the next stitch", "Knit (or Purl), bring yarn forward (or round), Knit (or Purl) into the next stitch"
and finally "Knit (or Purl), yarn forward (or round), Knit (or Purl) into back of the next stitch."
Only the symbols indicated by the red circles have machine knit instructions.

As 'wrap around the needle' instructions are not used in machine knitting,
they do not have default instructions in the machine knitting method.
Increases can also be achieved by the cast on method of wrapping yarn
around the needle and knitting or purling into the wraps. The Long stitch
(See page 275) symbols shown here can be used to indicate the number
of wraps that are required to form a loop between two stitches. If they are
used in this way, the abbreviations and instructions can be edited in the
Text Editor to provide the correct instructions.
If multiple wraps around the needle are used to increase, the return row
must be knitted and purled alternately, or the new stitches must be worked into from the front and back
alternately.

As they are not applicable to machine knitting, none of these symbols

have default machine knit abbreviations or instructions.
Multiple increases for textured patterns are almost never part of any
shaping routine, but are created as temporary stitches used for pattern
and texture effects, such as creating bobbles or ruffles.
In those and other instances, the effect of the increase is likely to last for
several rows, after which the original number of stitches will be restored
with a decrease. Sometimes extra stitches are made and only those
stitches are worked on for several rows before moving along to the next instance in that row. This strategy
allows for the procedure to be attached to a single column of stitches, starting with an increase and ending
with a decrease instruction. Any patterning that is needed for the stitches on the rows in between can be
indicated with a single symbol for each row.
One of the top six symbols can be chosen to illustrate the type of increase, and the instructions edited if
needed. They indicate knitting (or purling) into the front then back of the next stitch twice (which makes four
stitches), three times (which makes six stitches) or knit into front then back twice, then front again for five
stitches. Or the symbol which contains the "*" can be customised.
The lower eight symbols indicate to knit (or purl) into the next stitch, then the one below twice (makes four
stitches), three times (makes six stitches), four times (makes eight stitches). The instructions can also be
changed to make an odd number of stitches and the symbol with the "*" can be customised. These eight
symbols could also be used to indicate working once into a stitch for n rows below to form a deep tuck
stitch.

Once an appropriate symbol is selected, one of the symbols shown on the

left can be used to represent the temporary stitches created on this stitch
column. As these symbols are applicable to hand knitting only, none of
them have default machine method abbreviations or instructions.

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A symbol that best represents the number of temporary stitches can be chosen, or the symbol with the "*"
can be edited to read the correct number. Or, if alternate stitches are worked in Knit and Purl, one of the
last four symbols on the bottom row could be used instead. Their default instructions are "Purl, Knit, Purl",
"Knit, Purl, Knit", "Purl, Knit to end" and "Knit, Purl to end" successively.
To indicate the return to a single stitch column, one of the multiple decrease symbols (See on page 286)
can be used.

Decreases
Decreases may be part of a stitch pattern and are usually balanced by an equal number of increases in the
same row to keep the pattern to the correct size and shape. Decreases are also essential to shaping.

A decrease symbol on a grid cell in a pattern produces the instruction to decrease, but does not in any
way alter the stitch pattern grid. If the stitch pattern is 14 stitches wide, placing four decrease symbols
does not make it 10 stitches wide. To cater for this, the initial grid needs to be as wide as the stitch
pattern is going to be and No-stitch or other distinctive symbols can be used to indicate decreased
stitches as they happen in the pattern. As a decrease symbol is placed, a No-stitch symbol can be
added to keep the pattern width correct at all times.

Cast off

Casting off does not have to be limited to finishing a whole piece of knitting. It could also be
done at the edge of a garment piece to modify the shape. This is generally done at the beginning of a row
so that the yarn is in the right place to carry on with the rest of the row, but a spare length of yarn can be
used to cast off at the end of the row instead.
Casting off can also be done somewhere inside the row, such as for finishing a section of knitting (e.g.,
base of a neckline) or creating button holes. When knitting resumes on the 'held' section, the stitches need
to be picked up again. In the case of a button hole, the stitches need to be created again on the return row
by a cast on procedure (See page 251).
Two Cast off symbols (shown at start of paragraph) have been provided, so that two different methods of
casting off can be included. The text can be edited by using the Text Editor in order to provide detailed
descriptions for the pattern text if these are needed.

Single decreases
Single decreases are used when two stitches need to become one. A variety of symbols has been provided
to cater for a diverse range of procedures.

Although the Lace Smart Symbols (as shown in the red rectangle on
the left) include decreases, these should not be used as memo
symbols, as they have specific functionality for machine Lace knitting
(See on page 259) and will lead to errors when no matching eyelet
symbols are found.

Another reason for not using them for normal decreases is that if a stitch
pattern with these symbols is passed on to someone else who does not
use the Lace tool, their pattern will be affected and will show errors.
The symbols on row (4) and (5) include 'through back of loop' which can
be recognised by the little loop that is included in the icon. As this applies

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to hand knitting only, they do not have default abbreviations and instructions for the machine knit method.
All other symbols have abbreviations and instructions for both hand and machine knit methods.
Most single decreases result in a bias to right or left, so they can be used in pairs. As with paired increases,
the Knit version is frequently less complicated than the Purl version. If it is not necessary to emphasize the
slant at all, the symbols on rows (1) and (4) can be used for "Single decrease" or "Single Purl decrease".
The symbols on row (2) and (3) have the following machine knitting abbreviation and instruction: "DecR =
Right-slanting decrease" and "DecL = Left-slanting decrease", while the symbol in row (5) has none, as it
involves a 'through back of loop' which is not applicable to machine knitting (see blue circles).
Rows (2), (3) and (5) have different symbols for right and left slanting decreases, so they can be used to
indicate different procedures. The default hand knit descriptions of three symbols, that are in essence the
same single decrease with a slant to the right, have been given below to demonstrate how they could be
used in different ways (see blue circles).
Row (2)
○ RS (expected stitch) - "K2tog - Knit 2 together"
○ WS (unexpected stitch) - "SSPtbl - Slip 1 Knitwise twice. Insert left needle from front through both
stitches and slip back onto left needle then P2togtbl"
Row (3) equivalent symbol
○ RS - "KSPSSO - Knit 1, slip back onto left needle without twisting, use right needle to lift second
stitch over slipped stitch. S1 Purlwise"
○ WS - "PSPSSO - P1, Slip 1 knitwise and return to left needle. Slip purled stitch back to left needle
without twisting and then pass slipped stitch over. S1 purlwise"
Row (5) another equivalent symbol
○ RS - "SSK2tog - S1 Knitwise twice, slip back to left needle and K2tog"
○ WS - "P2togtbl - Purl 2 together through back of loops"

The symbols on row (3) could indicate a single decrease with a double or triple transfer tool.

The symbols on the left are used to indicate a decrease from three
stitches to two, which is in effect a single decrease.
The position of the circle in the symbol indicates whether the procedure
takes place at the right or left side of the work. The dot indicates a Purl
stitch on the Right side (RS) instead of a Knit.
There are machine as well as hand knit instructions for the top two symbols. The abbreviations and instruc-
tions of the symbol in the blue circle are given below.
○ Machine knit - "WrpDecR - Transfer rightmost two stitches to third needle in, return end needle to
NWP and leave 2nd in WP so yarn will wrap on next pass"
○ Hand knit (RS) - "YRDecR - Yarn round needle, Knit next three stitches together"
○ Hand knit (WS) - "YRDecPR - Yarn round needle, Purl next three stitches together"

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These symbols are useful in hand knitting for flat knitted edge shaping, especially for traditional lace
patterns. Yarn is brought round the needle at the start of the row, before working the next three stitches
together. This forms a loop at the outside edge of the fabric which is ideal for picking up when knitting the
edging, because it will be worked only on every other row (usually against a garter stitch background).

The symbols with the dot indicate that the stitch is worked in the unexpected way, which is purlwise on a
Knit row and knitwise on a Purl row.

Double decreases
Double decreases are often part of a stitch pattern, such as lace. Often, such a decrease has a straight
centre stitch, with the two outer stitches leaning inwards. It is also possible to make biased double
decreases, which may be used for shaping.

Although the Lace Smart symbol (see blue circle) represents a double
decrease, this should not be used as a memo symbol, as it has specific
functionality for machine Lace knitting.

The other two symbols on row (1) and the symbols on row (5) can be used
if it is not necessary to emphasize a slant. These symbols can be used to
represent "Knit (or Purl) 3 together" or "Knit (or Purl) 3 together through
the back of the loops" for hand knitting, and "right or left -slanting double
decrease" for machine knitting.
The right or left slant on the other symbols represents their direction,
while the dot represents Purl (unexpected stitch) version. The symbols
with loops are used when 'knit through back of loops' is part of the instruction and these symbols do not
have default instructions for machine knitting. The variety of symbols means that a lot of different
techniques can be used for decreasing.
The standard abbreviations and instructions have been described below for the first right slanting symbol
(see pink circles) on each row for Right and Wrong side of the fabric (Flat knit stocking stitch method).
Row (2)
○ (RS) DblDecR - Right-slanting double decrease
○ (WS) DblDecL - Left-slanting double decrease
○ (Machine) DblDecR - Right-slanting double decrease
Row (3)
○ (RS) SSK - S1 Knitwise twice. Insert left needle from front through both stitches and K2togtbl
○ (WS) P2togSPSSOS - Purl 2 tog, Slip 1 Knitwise and return to left needle. Slip P2tog back to left
needle and Pass Slipped Stitch Over. Slip 1 Purlwise
○ (Machine) DblDecR - Right-slanting double decrease
Row (4)
○ (RS) K3tog - Knit 3 together
○ (WS) SSSPtbl - Slip 1 knitwise 3 times. Insert left needle from front through all 3 stitches and slip
back onto left needle then P3togtbl
○ (Machine) DblDecR - Right-slanting double decrease
Row (6)

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○ (RS) K3togtble - Knit 3 together through back of loops

○ (WS) SSSPtbl - Slip 1 Knitwise 3 times. Return to left needle and P3 tog tbl
It can be a matter of personal preference which of these symbols are used, and one or more of them could
be used for different purposes. Any or all of these abbreviations and instructions can be edited and saved
with the stitch pattern that is open on the workspace. If these instructions are to be used regularly, they can
be saved in a separate symbols file (See page 299) for future use.

Multiple decreases

Multiple stitch decreases are not often used in machine knitting as it

would involve a lot of transferring of stitches unless the stitches were at
the outside of the garment piece. In order to be complete, some of the
multiple stitch increase symbols have been displayed in the image on the
left. There are no machine knit abbreviations or instructions for these
symbols.
These types of decrease are rarely for shaping, but are more likely to be a part of a stitch pattern which has
had multiple increases (See on page 281) from a single stitch followed by temporary stitches for one or
more rows. The primary purpose would be to return to a single stitch column. The likelihood of needing
symbols to indicate a variety of techniques in a single pattern is fairly low, so the range of suggested
symbols concentrates on allowing for different widths, or number of stitches involved in the decrease,
although the numbers could also be used to refer to the type of decrease.
The instructions of these symbols are to work 4, 5, n stitches together. If all the stitches are worked through
at once, it is easier to work knitwise decreases through the back of the stitches and purl stitches through
the front.

Care needs to be taken to make sure that the number of decreases and increases of a
stitch pattern match so the pattern keeps its correct width.

Needle positions

These symbols can be used in machine knitting to indicate when needle

positions have to be changed manually. They do not control needle selec-
tion as they are not Smart Symbols, but can serve as a reminder for when
needles need to be moved.
The Holding position symbol indicates that the needle is fully pulled
forward without being knitted until it is pushed back into working position,
which may be used for pull-up stitch patterns or short-row shaping. This
symbol can be used in a machine knit stitch pattern to indicate that the
desired slipped stitch needles are to be moved manually into Holding Position.
The Working position symbol is used to indicate when needles that are held or in non-working position
need to be returned to working position. Needles that are in working position are selected or deselected
according to the pattern requirements.
The Non-working position symbol can signal for the needle to be completely taken out of the work and
retracted to the back of the knitting machine bed. An open tuck stitch pattern might call for this symbol to be

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used. In a machine knit stitch pattern this symbol can be used to indicate that the desired slipped stitch
needles are to be taken out of work entirely.
The Empty needle symbol can be used where a transferred stitch leaves an empty needle that still needs
to be in working position. It is intended as an alternative to the Smart Lace Eyelet. In hand knitting this
symbol is used to indicate that the yarn is to be brought over the needle (Yarn over) and can be used in
casting on instructions (See page 251).
Different knitting machines have their own system of how the needle positions are achieved. Brother uses
a technique involving settings on the carriage itself, while Silver Reed pulls and pushes needles into the
correct position on the fly. When knitting Fair Isle, selected needles knit the contrast colour and deselected
needles knit the main colour. When knitting Jacquard, there is only one yarn in the carriage, which is knitted
on selected needles.

Double bed
When a double bed knitting technique is called for, because a dedicated double bed knitting machine is
used, a Ribber is attached to the knitting machine or an industrial knitting machine is used, different
symbols can be used to indicate the needle selection and technique for the second bed. Although double
bed knitting itself falls outside the scope of the manual as DesignaKnit cannot be used to program the
second bed or Ribber, symbols have been provided for use in charts that can be created to show special
instructions relating to the second bed or Ribber.
Stitch patterns are drawn with the effect side (right side or outside) of the fabric facing the user on the
screen. If the programmable bed on the knitting machine is the back bed, the side facing the user is the purl
side and if the programmable bed on the knitting machine is the front bed, the side facing the user is the
knit side.
All the symbols for double bed knitting are Memo Symbols and cannot be used to download or to produce
punch cards. Their purpose is solely to create charted instructions. The main stitch types for the technical
face and back of the knitted pieces will show as Knit and Purl respectively in Fabric Texture View. None of
these symbols (except the left and right arrows) carry default abbreviations and instructions for the hand
knitting methods, as they do not apply.

Patterns can only be downloaded to the main bed of a knitting machine, whether it is a double bed
machine or a single bed with a Ribber attachment. Any patterning on the Ribber involves manual needle
selection and / or specific settings of the carriage.

A number of Memo symbols that are particularly suited to double bed pattern charts has been provided so
that useful charts can be created by the experienced user.
Full Pitch Double Bed Symbols
Full Pitch means that the needles of each bed are directly opposite each other, so that if a needle is in
working position (WP) on one bed, its opposite needle on the other bed must be in non-working position
(NWP).

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If a pattern is to be downloaded to the main bed it has to be created by

using either Smart needle selecting symbols or colours for Jacquard.
Memo symbols such as the ones shown on the left can be used to create
or enhance a chart as well as pattern text.
On row (1), the symbols read "Knit on front bed", "Knit on back bed",
"Transfer Front to Back Bed" and "Transfer Back to Front Bed" respect-
ively. The first symbol represents stitches formed on the front bed, which
is the technical face of the knitting and shown as a Knit or plain stitch,
while the second symbol indicates the technical back of the knitting,
shown as a Purl. The third and fourth symbol on this row represents a
transfer of stitches from one bed to its opposite.
The symbols on row (2) represent 'tuck' on front and back bed respectively, and the symbol on row (3) is a
missed or 'slip' stitch. The symbols of row (4) are used to refer to cross over stitches left to right or right to
left, respectively.
The symbols on row (5) refer to the way in which stitches are transferred from one bed to the other. Double
and V-bed machines transfer horizontally in two stages: first to the opposite bed and then back to the
original bed. Depending on the direction of the transfer, this could take several passes. The four symbols,
from left to right, read as follows: "1PLF - Move 1 pitch to left (Front Bed)", "1PRF - Move 1 pitch to right
(Front Bed)", "1PL B - Move 1 pitch to left (Back Bed)" and "1PRB - Move 1 pitch to right (Back Bed)".
The symbols on row (6) refer to the Needle positions (See page 286) and can be used to indicate needles
in non-working position (NWP), working position (WP), holding (HP) or empty (EN) on either bed.
Half Pitch Double Bed Symbols
Half Pitch means that, instead of the needles being exactly opposite each other, they are offset so that
each needle is situated between two others on the opposite side (Full needle Rib). All the needles on both
beds can be used to form a double-sided or reversible fabric. Whether they are all used will depend on the
pattern that is knitted.
Stitch Designer cannot shift the grid by half a stitch to illustrate a half pitch situation, but a single symbol
can be used to show what happens to the matching needles on each bed. The system does not allow for
every pattern combination, but can be adapted for most circumstances. Other Memo symbols can be used
if necessary. Their instructions can be edited in the Text Editor of the Stitch Symbols Organizer.

The symbols shown on the left are used with Fully Interlocked (Full
Needle Rib) knitting machines, when the Ribber or second bed is set at
Half Pitch.
The symbol on row (1) is used to show that knitting takes place on both
beds ("Knit on Back and Front Beds"). A single instance of this symbol
could be used to indicate that the beds are set at half pitch.
The symbols on row (2) indicate a tuck stitch on the back bed combined
with a Knit stitch on the front bed ("Tuck on Back Bed, Knit on Front Bed"),
and a Knit stitch on the back bed with a tuck stitch on the front bed ("Tuck
on Front Bed, Knit on Back Bed"), respectively.
The symbols on row (3) represent a slip stitch on the back bed combined
with a Knit stitch on the front bed ("Miss/slip on Back Bed, Knit on Front Bed") and Knit stitch on the back
bed with a slip stitch on the front bed ("Miss/slip on Front Bed, Knit on Back Bed") respectively, while the
slip stitch symbol on row (4) is used to indicate a slipped (missed) stitch on both beds.

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If a racking pattern is used, the arrow symbols on row (5) may be used to mark the direction. These
symbols do not have a default abbreviation, so no pattern text will be printed unless they are edited in the
Text Editor, although the symbols themselves will be printed with the stitch pattern symbols view.
The symbols on row (6) are used for transfers of stitches from one bed to the other. From left to right these
symbols represent a transfer from the front bed to the back bed and left, front to back and right, back to
front to the left and back to front to the right. If a single row is used to indicate both beds and stitches are not
transferred sideways, the instructions of these symbols could be adapted to indicate shifting the needle
bed to the left or the right, but plain horizontal arrow symbols may be easiest to indicate the sideways shift.
Alternatively, if the transfers only take place on one of the beds, the opposite symbols could be used to
indicate racking.

Although double bed knitting machines can be used to produce the stitch patterns created by Desig-
naKnit, this falls outside the scope of the manual, as DesignaKnit cannot be used to program the
second bed or Ribber.

Miscellaneous

The symbols shown on the left are primarily intended to illustrate charts
and can be used within the brackets of Multi-stitch procedures (See page
268) or individually to specify a particular action, such as applying a bead,
working ladder stitches or picking up and knitting in floats.
The symbols on row (1) represent picking up one, two, three, multiple
floats or the bottom float. These are stitches that were slipped or dropped
on previous rows.
The symbols on row (2) do not have default abbreviations and will there-
fore not show up in pattern text instructions, unless they are edited to include abbreviations. Their default
instruction reads "Multi-stitch procedure e.g. wrap or smock" and needs to be edited if it is to be useful. The
only symbol of this row that carries a machine knit instruction ("Non-selecting Weave float") is the first one.
The first symbol on row (3) is an "Undefined procedure" and can be edited for any procedure that is
required, while the second symbol represents a bead.
The Up and Down arrow symbols on row (4) will not generate any text instructions, nor will they influence
the pattern. They are included because they might be useful when creating a pattern chart, possibly to
indicate the eventual orientation of the pattern or (on an integrated pattern) to show the direction in which
an edge may be picked up. They should only be used on a 'background' or blank, expected stitch so no
other instruction is lost. Both arrow symbols are ignored in the Pattern text (See page 69) printout, regard-
less of their abbreviations. They are, however, printed in the Stitch pat symbols (See page 66) view.

The symbols shown on the left can be used in hand knitting to indicate
crochet stitches.

Keyboard layout
The Pencil (See page 94) tool can be used to place stitch symbols directly on to the workspace. The cursor
can be hovered over the stitch (grid cell) where the colour or symbol needs to appear, after which the appro-
priate keyboard key can be pressed. The whole row can be typed and filled, using the space bar to skip

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over the background stitch. The typing direction is controlled by the last movement of the mouse and can
be changed by pressing the left or right arrow key on the keyboard or approaching the stitch cell by
sweeping the cursor in the desired direction. The pencil can be moved up and down a row at a time using
the up and down arrows.

Although the symbols themselves have no relevance to the letters or symbols on the keyboard and practic-
ally only a limited number of symbols will be used in any given stitch pattern, some of the most useful
symbols have been given keyboard positions, as can be seen in the image above, which is an example of a
UK keyboard layout. However, as different countries have different keyboard layouts, the Table of Symbols
(See page 292) has been provided to present a comprehensive list of (ascii) keyboard characters with their
corresponding KnitWrite© font symbols.
The keys on the keyboard are roughly laid out as follows:
○ The Space bar is used for the 'expected' main stitch, which for all machine knitting methods except
Wrong side facing texture will be Knit. The "." is used for the 'unexpected' stitch, which will be Purl for
all machine knitting methods except Wrong side facing texture. For Hand knitting methods, Knit is
the expected stitch for Stocking and Garter (Knit), while Purl is the expected stitch for Reverse
stocking and Garter (Purl).
○ Symbols shown in purple appear when the key is pressed on its own (numbers, lower case letters)
while symbols shown in red are the same keys with the Shift key held down (symbols, upper case
letters).
○ The most commonly used machine knit symbols are on the top (numbers) row and can also be
accessed by using the numbers of the number pad.
○ Biased stitches are associated with the "\" and "/" keys and slope in the same direction as the
symbol.
○ Symbols associated with letters are usually paired, with the 'expected' stitch applied to the lower
case letter and the 'unexpected' (opposite, dotted) version applied to the upper case letter, using the
Shift key.
○ Symbols on the left side of the keyboard are generally types of increases, on the right side types of
decreases.
○ If DesignaKnit is in Colour mode, numbers 1 through to 9 represent the first nine colours on the
Palette (See page 94).
A copy of the UK or US keyboard layout can be accessed by clicking on one of these links and saved to be
printed.

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 KnitWrite© (Complete)

KnitWrite© symbols can be applied to a pattern by using the palette to click each symbol with the appro-
priate mouse button, or by selecting the pencil tool and typing directly into the stitch pattern as long as
the Symbol mode (See page 224) is activated. Colours can be treated in the same way as long as the
Colour mode is activated.

Designing with Symbols

The KnitWrite© font may be used outside DesignaKnit to design complex sequences of stitch symbols,
which can then be pasted into the Stitch Designer workspace. If the symbols are known, the sequence
could be written out in a word processor such as Word, then copied and pasted into the correct place of a
stitch pattern.
When typing in symbols, it can be helpful to set the font of the application to KnitWrite© so the symbols are
visible as they will be in DesignaKnit on typing.
As word processors are designed to help write in a language, the direction of the text is consistent with that
language, which for English and other European languages is left to right and top to bottom, while flat
knitting charts are read from bottom to top and alternately left to right and right to left. So, unless a chart is
copied directly into a word processor, it is not very easy just to type it in straight lines to represent each row
of the stitch pattern. The best way to deal with this is to set up a table in a word processor with sufficient
rows and columns to hold the chart, or to use a spreadsheet, typing each stitch character in a cell. In this
way, Tab, Shift-Tab and arrow keys can be used to move from cell to cell and through the rows.
This technique can be very useful when editing a stitch pattern that was copied from the workspace with
the symbols extracted as text (See page 77). Pasting into a spreadsheet will automatically put each
character into a separate cell. Pasting into a word processor necessitates selecting all the symbols and
converting them to a table before they can usefully be worked on.

From word processor to DesignaKnit - Consulting the

(UK) keyboard layout above, or the table below, a sequence
of letters, numbers, and spaces could result in a stitch symbol
sequence as shown on the left. The sequence was typed in
Word (see top line), then copied and pasted into Stitch
Designer (see bottom line). Spaces result in skipping over a
grid cell, leaving the main stitch in place. To preview the symbols that will appear in DesignaKnit the font in
the word processor can be switched to KnitWrite©. The best size to use is about 10 pt. Whether the
sequence is then copied in this or a different word processor font does not matter, as DesignaKnit will
convert all the characters to the KnitWrite© font as soon as they are pasted into Stitch Designer.

From DesignaKnit to word processor -

Copying a symbols sequence in DesignaKnit,
making sure they are extracted as text, and
pasting this into Word will result in each
character being pasted, separated by a Tab
character as this represents the separation of each stitch. This means that copying the same sequence
from DesignaKnit into Word will display it widely spaced out. In this image the sequence is shown at the top
as it appears after pasting into Word, underneath while showing hidden formatting to display the 'tab'
characters and at the bottom when the font has been changed to KnitWrite©. If the copied pattern is wider
than about 24 stitches, the word processor will wrap the symbols, although this will be rectified when the
text is selected and converted to a table.

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The steps to copy (part of) a stitch pattern from DesignaKnit to Microsoft Word, editing it and placing it back
into Stitch Designer have been described below. The description of this process presumes a reasonable
amount of MS Word knowledge and does not go into detailed explanations on the Word side of it.

1. A selection box is drawn around the part of the stitch pattern that needs changes. "Ctrl-C" is used to
copy this selection, extracting the symbols to text.
2. A word processor (in this case MS Word) was opened and the selection pasted into it.
3. The easiest way to make changes is to convert the result into a table by selecting all the symbols
(making sure to select entire lines and including the first character of a sequence), going to the Insert
Table menu option and choosing 'Convert text to table'. This will display the numbers of rows and
columns with the text separation set at 'Tab' (the default option) and places all the entries in a table,
which stretches to fit the page. The column width can be adjusted by using the 'auto fit to contents'
option of the table properties.
4. The contents can now be changed easily. Switching between the KnitWrite© and a normal Word font
may be useful to preview the result.
5. After selecting the correct contents of the table it can be copied from Word ("Ctrl-C"), pasted in Stitch
Designer ("Ctrl-V") and moved to the correct location.
The process could just as easily have been gone through by using a spreadsheet like MS Excel, as shown
by the images below. In a spreadsheet it is easier to change the column widths and cell contents can be
copied more easily between cells rather than typing each cell entry as would be necessary in a word
processor.

The maximum number of stitches that will fit to a word processor page will be about 60 to 63, regardless
of whether the orientation is portrait or landscape. In a spreadsheet this maximum does not exist,
although it would not be practical to print out. If the stitch pattern is wider than 24 stitches Word will wrap
the symbols unless a table is used.

The number of symbols that can be used in the pattern is limited to the amount that can be fitted onto the
stitch symbols palette, which is 48, including the Knit and Purl stitches that are permanently fixed. As it is
typed into the grid, each new symbol is added to the palette and will stay there until it is removed (See on
page 243).

Table of Symbols
The letters, numbers and symbols shown in the table below may all be typed directly into stitch patterns by
activating the Pencil (See page 94), hovering the cursor over the correct position, then starting to type. The
'normal' keyboard characters are easy to use, with or without the Shift key. For the more obscure charac-
ters an ascii code may be typed, ensuring that DesignaKnit is in Symbols mode and the number pad of the
computer is active. Alternatively, and much easier, the Symbols Organizer (See on page 243) may be used
to add the desired symbol to the palette, after which a mouse button can be assigned to it.

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 KnitWrite© (Complete)

The KnitWrite© font characters are listed below in a table overview. The first column contains the 'ascii'
code, the second column is the result of typing the ascii code (by holding down the Alt-key, then typing the
number of the first column) and third column is the same as the second, except that the KnitWrite© font was
applied. To generate the tables, a physical UK keyboard and US International keyboard layout were used.
With a different combination, the results may vary.

The KnitWrite© font characters, like any other characters, are actually ASCII (American Standard Code for
Information Interchange) codes which the program in question, be it Word, Excel or DesignaKnit translates
into certain symbols, using a certain font.

ASCII code can be used

by activating the
number pad on the
computer, holding down
the Alt-key and typing a
number combination on
the number pad, then
letting go of the Alt-key.
Using this process the
table on the left was
constructed to demon-
strate that the numbers
next to the DesignaKnit
symbols are ascii
codes, that translate
into the relevant symbol in KnitWrite© and quite another in, say, Arial. The Knit stitch is a space, which is
why it does not appear to show up in the table.

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KnitWrite© (Complete)

It is not necessary to know any ASCII codes at all to use DesignaKnit as the symbols are readily avail-
able in the Stitch Symbols Organizer.

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 Text Editor (Complete)

Text Editor
Overview 296
General 297
Buttons 298

The Text Editor may be used to change the entries for the current pattern only, or the changed entries may
be saved as a separate symbols file with relevant information for future use. This can be very useful if a
certain 'house style' is used for knitting abbreviations and instructions that is different to the DesignaKnit
table entries. It may also be useful to add instructions to symbols that have none.

Clicking the "Text" button accesses the Text Editor in which abbreviations and knitting
instructions for all the KnitWrite© font symbols can be viewed and amended. The Text Editor dialogue
buttons are described individually below (See page 298).

When opening the Text Editor, the abbreviations and instructions shown will be those associated with
the current pattern and its method of knitting.

The window size can be amended by hovering the cursor over one of the edges or corners of it and, when
the cursor changes to a double sided arrow, clicking and dragging it smaller or larger as needed. When the
editor is closed, its size will be remembered for the next session.

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Text Editor (Complete)

Overview
The Text Editor opens
with the "Show only the
stitch symbols that are
selected for the palette"
box ticked (see small red
circle) and will only show
the abbreviations and
instructions associated
with the currently open
stitch pattern, as shown
on the left.
The symbols are
displayed along the top in
tiny icons, and much
larger in the list window
below (see pink arrows).
Clicking on any of the tiny
icons jumps directly to the
corresponding line in the
table, which is useful if
the "Show only the stitch
symbols that are selected
for this palette" box is
unticked. The symbol that
is selected has a little
white square as its
background so it stands
out from its neighbours. In the image on the left, the Knit symbol is chosen, which is represented by a blank.
The pink and green background, as well as the blue and orange flags are shown for each symbol, whether
or not "details" is ticked in the main "Symbols Organizer" screen.
Next to each symbol its so-called ascii code (See page 292) is shown as a number. This can be useful if a
stitch pattern is typed in a word processor, such as Word, and then transferred into DesignaKnit (See page
291). However, this is something only to be considered by the experienced user.
How the columns are displayed depends on which knitting method is chosen in the drop down list (see blue
arrow). Ticking the two arrow button (see blue oval) resizes the columns to the width of the widest item. The
arrows will change direction when clicked, alternating between pointing towards and away from each other.
The width of any column may be adjusted by hovering the cursor between the column headings (see red
arrows) until it changes shape (see red circle), clicking, holding and dragging the column to the desired
width. In the image, the cursor was clicked between the column headings, then moved down a little to show
its shape more clearly.
Switching the knitting method between Machine and one of the Hand knit methods (see blue arrow) in this
dialogue will not change the knitting method for the current pattern. It is purely a means of seeing and being
able to edit the descriptions. The symbols file can be saved as a separate .csv (comma separated values)
file if needed (See page 299). The method of knitting for the stitch pattern itself can be changed from the
main Stitch Symbols Organizer window (See page 245), or by exiting the Organizer and using Options /
Method of Knitting.

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 Text Editor (Complete)

For "Machine knitting"

only two columns are
displayed because the
knitting is not turned at
the end of every row
and whether the right or
wrong side of the fabric
is facing the knitter does
not change, while for
the "Hand knitting"
methods four columns
will display (as shown
above) to take Right
and Wrong side of the
fabric as the work is
turned into account.
The "Show only the stitch symbols that are selected for this palette" box is unticked (see small red circle) in
this image, displaying all of the symbols. DesignaKnit will jump to the line of the symbol that is clicked (see
red arrows).

Abbreviations and Instructions are different for machine and hand

knit methods, as can be seen by comparing the two images on the
left. E.g., what is "Lace tool: eyelet" in machine knitting is "Yarn
over" in a hand knitting method.

General
Abbreviations and Instructions are included of each symbol for both the front (right side) and back (wrong
side) of the knitting because the meaning of the symbol changes according to whether it is on a right or
wrong side row. E.g., in stocking stitch, the blank symbol is for the expected stitch, which, on the front of the
fabric is a Knit stitch, whereas worked from the back it will be a Purl stitch. More detailed information about
expected and unexpected stitches can be found in Hand Knit Options (See page 340).

With the exception of the Knit and Purl stitches, the Abbreviations and Knitting Instructions for each
symbol may be changed for each of the methods that can be accessed in the drop down list.

If an abbreviation is added or changed it is better to use letters than numbers, as numbers most often refer
to number of stitches and could confuse the instructions when applied to a number of stitches. If the abbre-
viation consists of only one letter and this stitch symbol is applied to several adjoining stitches, the number
of stitches appears directly after the letter, such as for the Knit and Purl instructions ("K1", "P15" etc.). For
abbreviations of more than one letter, there is a space between the abbreviation and the number of stitches
involved so it is clear that the symbol is applied to a number of stitches. I.e. "TwLP 2" obviously means two
separate stitches whereas "TwLP2" could conceivably refer to a single stitch (See on page 268).
Text can be edited by typing directly over the highlighted entry in the box, or by clicking once or twice (not
double click) in the highlighted cell after which the contents can be edited by typing over the highlighted
area, using delete or backspace to erase text, then type again or using Copy and Paste ("Ctrl-C", "Ctrl-V").
Some symbols, such as brackets, are particularly suited to changing Abbreviation and Instructions to be
used in particular cases (See page 269).

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Text Editor (Complete)

Clicking in a cell will highlight the entire cell. Right clicking in the highlighted cell will present a pop up box
with the options Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete. If one of the options is not available it will be greyed out.
Contents can be copied from one entry to another easily as follows: Click in the cell to be copied, which
highlights it. Right click and select "Copy". Click in the cell where the data needs to be pasted, so that it is
highlighted. Then right click and select "Paste". If a cell needs to be cleared it needs to be highlighted by
clicking in it, after which right clicking will allow "Delete" to be selected.
Clicking once in a cell will select (highlight) the entire cell. Clicking again will select (highlight) only the
contents, which can then be edited. At that point the key combinations of "Ctrl-C" etc. may be used to copy,
cut, paste or delete the highlighted selection.

DesignaKnit copies the contents of the highlighted cell, not the cell that the cursor is hovered over. The
pasted entries can be deleted in the same way by clicking in the cell to highlight it, right clicking and
selecting "Delete".

Buttons
All the buttons of
the Text editor have
been shown in the
image on the left,
together with a Hint
that appears
whenever the
cursor is hovered
over an available button, such as the column widths button as shown in this image. If a button is greyed out
it is not available and no hint will appear.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant section.

There are two sequences that the symbols table can be sorted into and clicking the "Sort" button
toggles between them. The DesignaKnitOrganizer default sequence groups the symbols by function, while
the alternative sequence uses the ASCII numbers that are shown in the leftmost column of the Text Editor.

Clicking this button displays a dialogue from which a previously saved text file (.csv) can be opened
and applied to the current stitch pattern palette. Any text in the .csv file will only be applied to symbols that
are actually on the current palette. It is therefore important to select the correct knitting method (One of the
hand knitting methods or machine knitting) at this point to ensure the text is applied to the correct symbols.
The screen looks almost identical to the "Save Stitch Symbol Text file" window shown below, and points to
the same location. Clicking the "Open" button when a file has been chosen immediately applies the

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 Text Editor (Complete)

contents of the selected symbols file to the symbols on the current palette and returns the program to the
Text Editor screen. If other changes were made prior to opening a symbols file, DesignaKnit will display a
warning box (See page 301) and offer the opportunity to save the current changes before proceeding. The
"Revert" button becomes available and can be clicked to revert the changes.

Clicking this button allows for the symbols file to be saved under the same or a different name. The
file will be saved as a .csv (comma separated values) file which is a text file that can be recalled to have its
values applied to any stitch pattern that is on the workspace at the time. MySymbols.csv is initially provided
by DesignaKnit with all the default abbreviations and instructions. This file can be overwritten with the
user's own abbreviations and instructions if needed. If at any point the default settings need to be returned
to, MySymbols.csv can be deleted, after which, on next opening DesignaKnit, a new MySymbols.csv will
be created from default with the initial settings.

When the "Save" button

is clicked DesignaKnit will
present a dialogue as
shown on the left in which
a name can be given to a
new symbols file, or an
existing file can be
overwritten. All existing
symbols files are shown,
and the correct file type is
already selected in the
"Save as type" box.
Symbols files are typically
saved in a Windows user
folder for the user's
language. The path can
be changed, but as this is
the location where DesignaKnit will look for symbols files when opening one, it is not advisable.
It is possible to open the resulting .csv file in Excel, which can be a way for very experienced users to
edit and save different symbols files without editing the abbreviations and instructions in DesignaKnit.
However, great care needs to be taken when editing these files as their structure is such that they fit into
DesignaKnit in a very specific way. Creating a .csv file from scratch does not work.
There may be a requirement for creating different symbols files if, e.g., a particular set of instructions
differs from the default set, but will be used often, or if a particular style of presentation is needed by a
pattern publisher, or if stitch patterns need to be translated into other languages. As many symbol files
as required can be created. Symbol files with edited instructions may be passed on to other DesignaKnit
users without breaching the licence agreement.

All existing symbols files may be overwritten

and a message such as shown on the right
is presented whenever a symbols file
already exists. If a user symbols file is
saved, only the first message will appear
before overwriting, but if the file name is
"MySymbols.csv" and the folder is the
DesignaKnit default location, the second message appears as an extra warning. It is not recommended
to overwrite the MySymbols.csv as this contains the DesignaKnit standard abbreviations and

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Text Editor (Complete)

descriptions for all symbols. Whenever a stitch pattern is started from File / New from Default, "MySym-
bols.csv" is used to provide abbreviations and descriptions for each stitch symbol. If a different, previ-
ously saved symbols file is needed this can be specified in File / New Pattern Setup (See page 53) or in
the Text Editor (See page 298).
If it becomes necessary to revert to the DesignaKnit supplied Symbols file, this can be done by using the
Palettes / Symbols Organizer menu option, then clicking the "Text" button, followed by the "Default"
button on the next screen. This will reinstate the DesignaKnit default, which can be saved by clicking the
"Save" button to overwrite the current "MySymbols.csv" if required. On downloading new versions of the
program, the MySymbols.csv may also be overwritten, thus losing any user amendments.

Clicking whichever of these buttons is shown affects the display of the columns in the
Text Editor's window. The first button represents the displayed columns at their widest, the second at a
narrower view. Whenever one of these button is clicked, the other is displayed and the state of the columns
changes accordingly (See page 296).

The "Default" button can be clicked to re-instate the DesignaKnit default symbols file and so
overwrite any alterations. The default symbols file is embedded in the program and cannot accidentally be
overwritten. Clicking the "Default" button displays a warning dialogue, offering different options (See page
301).

This button can be clicked to apply any of the changes made. No further dialogue is
presented and the program stays in the "Stitch Symbols Text Editor" screen to allow further editing. When
the Apply option is used, the text is stored in the stitch pattern for all symbols that are in the Palette.
However, the stitch pattern file needs to be saved for these changes to stay with it from this moment on.

This button can be clicked to revert to the previous state of the file. The button is greyed out
unless changes were made and applied. When clicked the text is reverted to the earlier text.

Clicking this button will close the Text Editor and return to the Symbols Organizer, offering the
opportunity to save changes if any where made (See page 301).

Clicking the "Copy" button appears to have no effect, but has in fact copied the current
contents of the Text Editor to the clipboard.

When "Copy" is clicked and Excel is opened, the Paste function "Ctrl-
V" can be used to drop the contents of the clipboard onto the
worksheet.
In the example on the left the contents were dropped into Excel, after
which column widths were adjusted for easy reading, and a
background colour was given to the 'symbols' column to make it
stand out from the others.
In the top image the font is a normal Excel font, which translates each
symbol into a different character, using a space for Knit and a "." for
Purl.
The KnitWrite© font was applied to the relevant column in the lower
image which makes all the DesignaKnit stitch symbols appear.
This process can be used for documentation purposes to show which symbols were used with which
particular stitch pattern. This information can be kept for the knitter's own use, or shared with others. For
a more in depth explanation the KnitWrite© (See page 251) section can be consulted.

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 Text Editor (Complete)

This button access the relevant Help section.

Whenever changes take place in the Text Editor, such as edits in the contents or clicking "Revert" or
"Default", after which "Close" is clicked or the window is attempted to be closed by clicking on the "X" in the
top right hand corner, DesignaKnit presents the following dialogue.

"Apply the changes to..." can be ticked to

apply the changes to the currently open
stitch pattern file in the current Stitch
Designer session. If the symbols file is
intended to be used with this stitch pattern
in future sessions, the stitch pattern file also
needs to be saved. This box can be ticked
and / or greyed out depending on previous
choices that were made. If it is greyed out
and ticked it means that the changes have
already been applied before.
"Save the symbols as a text file" can be
ticked to create a new symbols file, or
replace an existing text file (See page 299).
If no changes were made in the Text Editor,
the disk symbol will be greyed out. A separate symbols file can be useful if this particular collection of
symbols is required in more than the current stitch pattern.
If changes were made in the abbreviations and / or instructions, some action needs to be taken in order to
return to the Symbols Organizer and stitch pattern. Either option will apply whatever was chosen: applying
the changes to the stitch pattern file, saving the symbols file, or neither.
"Back to Text Editor" can be clicked to return to the previous screen, from where more changes can be
made.
"Continue to Symbols Organizer" can be clicked to exit the Text Editor and return to the Symbols Organizer
from where the palette file can be saved if required and the stitch pattern can be returned to.

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Stitch Cables (Complete)

Stitch Cables
Machine knitting 303
Hand knitting 306
Cables Palette 308
Stitch Cables Organizer 311
Placing Stitch Cables 323

Stitch cables can be added to the design to supply texture to stitch patterns. DesignaKnit contains an
extensive collection of stitch cables, which can even be expanded by adding custom designed cables.
Stitch crossings, cross over and travelling stitches are generally referred to as (stitch) cables in this section.
They have to be added to the Cables Palette before they can be placed in a stitch pattern.
A few examples of what can be achieved have been shown below in Fabric Texture view. Although stitch
cables are primarily geared towards hand knitting, good results can be created on knitting machines by
using the Interactive Knitting section to view when and how cables need to be hand tooled.

All stitch cables are listed in the Stitch Cables Organizer (See page 311) which can be accessed
through Palettes / Cables Organizer or by clicking the button on the Left Toolbar. Cables are listed
according to width and type and a variety of search criteria (See page 315) can be used to facilitate
browsing to find a specific cable. All supplied cables have abbreviations and descriptions (See page 313)
as well as knitting instructions (See page 320) that are used in printed pattern instructions and Interactive
Knitting. Custom cables can be designed, edited or removed from the Organizer (See on page 317) and
existing stitch cables can be added to or removed from the Stitch Cables Palette (See page 317).

The "Cables Palette" (See page 308) can be accessed by clicking the Top Toolbar button or through
View / Cables Palette. Stitch cables that are present in the palette can be selected and placed in stitch
patterns (See on page 323), provided the knitting method is compatible.

If stitch cables cannot be applied to

the current stitch pattern the error
message as shown on the right is
presented. The knitting method can
be changed by clicking "Yes", which
will open the "Machine Knit Options"
dialogue from which a different method can be chosen (See on page 338). Stitch cables cannot be applied
when using a Jacquard knitting method.
If a stitch cable is set with an audible Alert (See page 318) this will sound in Interactive Knitting when the
row on which it appears is reached. To see an example of using a stitch cable pattern in a garment piece
(See page 216).

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Cables and Grid lines in the Interactive Knitting "Needle bed" and "Chart" progress windows are drawn in
the "Grid + Cables" colour that is selected in the Colour Scheme (See page 21). If the contrast is too subtle,
the background colour of the stitch pattern could be changed.

When designing a cable pattern, it is often best to start at the bottom and work upwards.
When placing a stitch cable, front crossing stitches are copied to the preceding and following
rows, while back crossing stitches are copied only to the following row. Working from the
bottom up will ensure there is less chance of disturbing crossings that are lower down in the
pattern.

Machine knitting
Stitch cables can be knitted successfully on a knitting machine, but need manual intervention as knitting
machines cannot cross over stitches by themselves. The stitches that are involved in the cable need to be
transferred to their new positions by using transfer tools. The right and left stitches are taken off the
needles onto transfer tools, the tools are crossed in the required manner and the stitches are rehung onto
the needles in the new positions. Pushing the carriage across will complete the cable row.
Care needs to be taken, as the crossed over stitches will pull on the needles because they have to be
stretched over to different needle positions. The needles that are involved in the cable crossing should be
pulled out to upper working position after crossing the stitches, to give less chance for the stitches to slip off
when the carriage is moved across. For larger cable crosses (e.g., involving more than 6 stitches in a 3
over 3 cross) the carriage can have a hard time knitting, as the stitches will put a lot of strain on the
needles. This can be dealt with to some extent on the row before the cross by knitting across slowly,
stopping at the first stitch of the cable cross needle position, then turning the tension dial so that the
stitches are as loose as possible for the needles that will be crossed in the next row. The tension needs to
be turned back to normal just after these stitches. This ensures as much play in the fabric as possible.
If the cable crossing involves even more stitches, the following method could be used. A strand of yarn is
laid across the needles that will be involved in the cable crossing and each of these selected needles can
be knitted back to non-working position. This results in an even looser tension for these selected needles,
giving more ease, just for this stitch cable area. Once the stitches have been crossed, this second strand of
yarn is used again to knit these now crossed needles back to non-working position. As the carriage is
moved across, all stitches except those involved in the cable cross are knitted. For the row following the
cable cross, the cabled needles plus one needle on each side of the crossing are brought to upper working
position to help keep the stitches from slipping off the needles during knitting. The process needs to be
repeated for every crossing. The extra strands of yarn for each separate cable can be moved up in the
fabric as the knitting progresses for crossings that are located higher up.
If the cables consist of Knit stitches only, the required stitches will just need to be transferred, but if Purl
stitches are included, the process becomes more involved and is dealt with in different ways, depending on
which machine is used:
Double bed knitting machine - the stitches that are to be purled have to be placed on the front bed
(closest to the knitter) while the other stitches stay on the main (back) bed. The stitches on the main bed
are crossed in the required manner by using the transfer tools. Pushing the carriage across will complete
the cable by knitting the back bed and purling the front bed stitches.
Brother Garter carriage - the stitch cable pattern is downloaded to the machine, stitches are crossed by
using the transfer tools, after which pushing the carriage across will automatically work Knit and Purl
stitches according to the downloaded pattern. The Interactive Knitting screen needs to be consulted to see
from which side the cable has to be worked. As the Garter and main carriage are joined, they are shown as

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one in Interactive Knitting and the necessary Knit and Purl stitches will be worked. Brother Garter carriage
patterns can use Right / Wrong side facing texture methods, taking the following into account:
○ Wrong Side Facing texture - the knit side will be the effect side of the fabric facing away from the
user, so any purl stitches will be formed on selecting needles. The pattern will be flipped from left to
right by DesignaKnit before downloading.
○ Right Side Facing texture - the purl side will be the effect side of the fabric facing the user, so any knit
stitches will be formed on selecting needles. The pattern will be downloaded as seen on the Desig-
naKnit screen, without flipping.
Single bed knitting machines - the stitches that are to be crossed can be repositioned by using transfer
tools and the stitches that are to be purled will need to be reformed. This could be done by using a latch tool
to pick up a stitch below the one that needs to be purled, dropping the stitch that is on the needle and using
the latch tool to reform it into purl, after which it can be slipped back on the original needle in its reformed
state.

Cables are generally featured against Purl stitches to make them stand out from a background. If Purl
stitches are required in an otherwise Knit row, they will need to be placed purlwise onto the required
needles by hand, by using a latch tool, for single bed machines. This operation can be laborious,
depending on how many stitches need to be handled. Depending on whether Knit or Purl stitches are in
the majority it may be best to start with one of the Right / Wrong side facing texture methods in order to
minimise the number of stitches that need to be hand tooled.

When downloading the stitch cable pattern to Brother knitting machines, either directly from DesignaKnit or
by using a Brother Punch card or Mylar reader sheet, needles will be preselected by the carriage on the
row where the stitch cable action needs to take place. Templates for Brother Punch card knitting machines
are marked with the cable crossings. The preselected needles make it easy to see which needles are
involved in the cable crossing.
Silver Reed, Creative and Passap punch card machines do not preselect, but select and knit the needles in
the same pass of the carriage. Their punch card templates are not marked for stitch cables. Although
Toyota knitting machines can preselect needles, it is not possible to download to them. In these cases, the
presence of the stitch cable symbols in the Interactive Knitting screen is very useful as a guide to find the
needles involved in the cable crossing.
In order to have the clearest view, the cable graphic (first button shown on the left) rather
than the cable symbol view (second button) could be switched on in the Cables Palette (See page 308)
because the cable diagram represents a graphical view of how many stitches are to be put on transfer tools
and the way in which they should be crossed. The second (cable symbol) button shows the abbreviation of
the stitch cable, which can be useful in cases where a stitch pattern contains multiple crossings that have
the same graphic view but different symbols. This is rare with the supplied cables, but could be needed to
distinguish custom cables.
The default colour of the stitch cables is black, but can be changed in the Colour Scheme (See page 21) as
required. The buttons shown here are also displayed at the bottom of the Left Toolbar in Interactive Knitting
whenever a cable is present in the current stitch pattern, to easily switch between these views.
Cables are worked from the right (finished) or wrong (reverse) side of the fabric depending on whether RS
or WS method was chosen in Options / Method of Knitting. This choice decides which side is facing the
knitter while sitting at the knitting machine as well as which side is shown in the Interactive Knitting "Needle
bed" and "Piece Overview" windows. Generally, the Wrong side of the work is presented to the knitter on
the physical knitting machine, so it is often easiest to use a Wrong side facing method (including Fair Isle)
when working with stitch cables.

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The finished side of the fabric is presented in Stitch Designer and Original Pattern Drafting whether the
method is chosen as Right or Wrong side. The side of the fabric as viewed on the needle bed while
knitting is presented in Interactive Knitting.

Some considerations to take into account when knitting cables on knitting machines:

○ The method of knitting needs to be decided at the start of

designing. Switching it during work is a huge change and will
make nonsense of the cables that are already placed. This can
easily be seen by switching on the Fabric Texture view. In the
example on the right a cable was placed in a WS (which is the
most usual way of working) method stitch pattern, after which
the method was switched to RS. The cables are no longer
smooth and something is clearly wrong, although the Grid view will not show anything amiss.

○ Fabric texture view immediately shows if crossings are not joining smoothly with the rows above
and below the crossings and should be used frequently to check on the progress of stitch cable
patterns.
○ Cables need at least two rows between crossings in order to be workable. Although it is possible to
place crossings on alternate rows, which may work well on one over one crossings, more rows in
between will ensure that the end result is a smooth fabric where the cables stand out nicely against
their background, without pulling on the rest of the fabric. If a crossing is wider than six stitches in
total, it is probably best to leave at least six rows in between so that the fabric will be loose enough to
be able to work the following crossing.

○ Cables need contrasting stitches to make them stand out from their
background and this is generally achieved by placing Purl stitches
on either side, as can be seen in the images on the right. Purl
stitches were used in the leftmost image, making the cable come
alive much better than the one shown in the rightmost image. Purl
stitches need more attention as not all knitting machines are able to
work them automatically (See page 303).
○ If a cable is Knit over Knit stitches (K over K), all stitches immediately above and below the cable
should be Knit to ensure a smooth transition between the crossings. If a cable is Knit over Purl
stitches (K over P), Purl stitches are initially placed in the appropriate places by DesignaKnit to
ensure that Purl appears in the background to one side and Knit stitches to the other side of the cable
(See page 316).

○ If the stitch cables are shown as graphics rather than abbre-

viations, and the "Inverted left to right (for machine
knitting)" has been ticked in the setup of these printouts,
the crossings are shown in reverse direction (as viewed
from the wrong side of the fabric) for the Stitch Designer
Stitch Pat Picture, Stitch Pat Symbols, Garment Picture
and Garment Symbols printouts. This makes it easy to see
which group of stitches cross in front as the work is viewed while hanging on the machine. The
example on the right is of a travelling stitch cable pattern as a Stitch pat picture. The rightmost image
is inverted and the leftmost is not. Both the "Needle bed" and "Piece Overview" progress windows in
Interactive Knitting will show how the crossings are to be worked.

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○ Stitch patterns (including any cable diagrams) are inverted in Stitch Designer, on the Interactive
Knitting screen and on downloading when Fair Isle or Wrong side facing texture methods are used
on Japanese machines, or Wrong side facing texture on Passap machines.

Hand knitting
Left edge 306
Row 1 306
Integrating 308

Stitch cables can only be placed on either odd or even rows unless circular knitting is used. 'Illegal' place-
ments will be prevented by jumping over those positions when placing the cable motifs. The "Row 1 is
wrong side" and "Knitting starts at left edge of row 1 on chart" settings in Options / Method of Knitting (See
on page 340) affect the side of the fabric the cable appears on and the knitting direction respectively. The
stitch pattern itself and its integration with a garment piece will be affected by these options, which have
been explained in detail below.
As cables are always knitted from the right hand side of the chart, both "Row 1 is wrong side" and "Knitting
starts at left edge of row 1 on chart" should either be on or off for them to appear on the finished (right) side
of the fabric. If only one of them is ticked, error messages (See page 307) will be produced on running
Check (See page 59) or on saving the stitch pattern.

Left edge

"Knitting starts at left edge of row

1 on chart" (See page 341) may
be ticked and, although an error
message will appear to the effect
that there are cables that are
knitted from the left hand side of
the chart and might not produce
the expected result (See page
307), "OK" can be clicked and the
stitch pattern can be saved as it is. There is no visible difference in the appearance of the stitch pattern or
integrated garment piece on the Stitch Designer workspace because the pattern is not shuffled vertically,
but the error message will appear whenever the stitch pattern is checked, saved or printed.
As row 1 is still row 1 and on the same side (right or reverse) of the fabric, the pattern is not shuffled vertic-
ally but because the rows will be approached from a different direction, as shown by the blue and red
arrows in the image above, the number of stitches either side of the cable will be swapped over, thereby
moving the cable to the other side of the fabric. In this example, working from the Right edge (default) will
produce 5 stitches before the cable is started, while selecting to work from the Left edge (ticking "Knitting
starts at left edge of row 1 on chart") will produce 7 stitches before starting to work the cable.
The "Knitting starts at left edge of row 1 on chart" option is ticked only if the pattern is to be read from the
left, rather than from the default right side of the chart.

Row 1
The "Row 1 is wrong side" setting (See page 341) is a property of a stitch pattern and stays with it, regard-
less of its integration with different garment pieces. The setting can be changed in Options / Method of
knitting and is used when the stitch pattern is knitted as a swatch. This setting is only available for flat knit
patterns and greyed out for circular knitting.

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Row 1 of the stitch pattern is not necessarily the same as row 1 of the garment piece.

Changing this setting automatically shuffles the pattern (if necessary) to ensure that the stitch cable ends
up on the finished side of the fabric.
Stitch cables can only be placed either on odd or on even rows for flat knitting, whereas a mixture of odd
and even rows is possible for circular knitting. Switching from circular to flat knitting displays an error
message to the effect that the pattern may not produce the expected result and if there is a mixture of stitch
cables on odd and even rows, some will end up on the wrong (reverse) side of the fabric. This warning will
also appear when printing or saving the pattern, in Interactive Knitting and when using the Check option.
Whether cables are on odd or on even rows is decided by the user when placing the cables. In conjunction
with the "Row 1 is wrong side" setting the stitch cable will end up on the right (finished) or wrong (reverse)
side of the fabric.

If "Row 1 is wrong side" is set or changed

so that the cable would end up on the
wrong side of the fabric, an automatic
correction takes place on leaving the
"Hand Knit Options" dialogue.The stitch
pattern is shuffled so that the first cable row
will be on the right side of the fabric.
The example on the right shows a stitch
cable that initially starts on an even
numbered row (row 2 in image 1) with the
"Row 1 is wrong side" setting ticked. The
first (plain) row will be worked on the wrong
(reverse) side of the fabric, so that the
cable instructions start on the second row
on the right side of the fabric. After
unticking "Row 1 is wrong side" in Options / Method of Knitting, the warning that there are cables on wrong
side rows (image 2) is displayed, followed by the message that the pattern has been shuffled (image 3). On
clicking "OK", the stitch cable has been moved to odd numbered rows which will be knitted on the right side
of the fabric (image 4).

If "Row 1 is wrong side" is ticked after it was

previously unticked and the pattern
shuffled, information is added to the
message of image (2) shown above, to
inform that cables are knitted from the left
hand side, as shown on the left. The cables
are now on odd numbered rows because
the pattern was shuffled in the previous
action.
As a rule, if all cables of a stitch pattern are on odd rows, the "Row 1 is wrong side" should be unticked and
if they are on even rows the option should be ticked. If cables are on both odd and even rows, the settings
of Row 1 will generate a warning for the first cable that is encountered on a 'wrong side' row, but the pattern
will not be shuffled as it is unclear which cables, if any, should be shuffled.

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The changes that are made in Options / Method of Knitting in Stitch Designer apply to row 1 of the
unintegrated stitch pattern. This may be different to the settings of the garment piece which can be
determined separately.

After integration with a garment piece, the integration settings in Original Pattern Drafting
(File / Integrate) or in Stitch Designer(Shapes / Integrate) (See also Integrate on page 440) will be used to
determine whether Row 1 of the garment piece is on the right or wrong side of the fabric. The setting can be
changed by clicking the "L" or "R" button shown at the start of this paragraph in the Integrate menu which
will adjust the vertical integrated position up or down a row as necessary to make sure the cable ends up on
the right side of the fabric.

The Check (See page 59) option can be used to make sure that cables end up on the right side of the
fabric. However, if cables have intentionally been placed on odd and even rows, the resulting error
messages can be ignored.

Integrating
Stitch cable patterns can be integrated with garment pieces in Original Pattern Drafting or in Stitch
Designer.
○ Original Pattern Drafting - when a stitch pattern is dragged over a garment piece in Original Pattern
Drafting it can be dragged freely over any of the rows, even if this would lead to the cables ending up
on the wrong side of the fabric. The Knit direction can be changed through ticking or unticking
"Knitting starts at left edge of row 1 on chart" in Options / Method of Knitting, by clicking the Knit direc-
tion Indicator button after it has been made visible by clicking the option in the Top Toolbar, or by
changing the Knit direction in the File / Integrate dialogue by clicking the "L" or "R" indicators. A
message such as shown above (See page 307) will only appear if the "Knitting starts at left edge of
row 1 on chart" was used in Options / Method of Knitting.
○ Stitch Designer - when a piece outline is dragged over a stitch pattern in Stitch Designer it can be
moved freely. The outline is recalculated and redisplayed as soon as the mouse button is released,
or immediately after a keyboard arrow key has been used to move the piece. If the Knit direction
needs to be changed this has to be done through ticking or unticking "Knitting starts at left edge of
row 1 on chart" in Options / Method of Knitting. This will present a message if cables are on wrong
side facing rows and DesignaKnit will correct this by shuffling the pattern vertically to keep stitch
cables on right side rows.

Cables Palette
The "Cables Palette" is different to the colour and stitch symbol palette because stitch cables can be
applied to selected stitch patterns, while at least one colour and two stitch symbols (Knit and Purl) are
applied to all stitch patterns. Whereas different custom Colour and Symbol palettes can be created and
saved, there is only one stitch cables palette.

Stitch cables need to be added to the "Cables Palette" before they can be applied to the stitch pattern.

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The "Cables Palette" from which cables

can be selected and placed onto the stitch
pattern can be opened by clicking the 'View
the palette of stitch cables' Top Toolbar
button or the View / Cables Palette menu
option.
It can be closed by clicking the cancel button
at the bottom (red X), the cross at the top right
of the dialogue or by pressing the Esc key.
The Cables Palette opens as a floating window and can be moved away from the workspace by clicking,
holding and dragging its title bar (see green arrow). If the Options / Floating Windows for Palette etc menu
option is ticked, then unticked, the Cables Palette will be limited to the DesignaKnit workspace for the
current session.
The cable that is visibly displayed (see purple arrow) is the one that is either at the top of the list or the one
that was last used, to facilitate placement. Other cables that are present in the palette can be selected by
clicking on the drop down triangle (see blue arrow) or by clicking on the forward and backward arrows in the
Cables Palette toolbar (see blue oval). Different cables can be added to the Cables Palette in the Stitch
Cables Organizer (See page 311).
The source ([DK9]), position in the stitch cables list (#002), abbreviation (C2B) and a short hand description
(Back/Right Cross K1,k1) are displayed for the stitch cable that is currently visible in the drop down window
(see red oval and purple arrow). Supplied cables adhere to the DesignaKnit naming system (See page
312) while custom cable source, abbreviations and descriptions can be defined by the user (See on
page 318).
All stitch cables have a 'graphic' (see red arrow) and a 'symbol' (see orange arrow) and are presented on
the workspace, in printed charts and in Interactive Knitting in one of these two format. If 'graphic' is chosen
the cable will be presented by the stylized graphic which gives more of an impression of the actual knitting,
and if 'symbol' is chosen, a text abbreviation such as "C2B" will be shown. Both notations cover the area of
the stitches that are involved in the cable. Selecting 'graphic' enables the supplied cables to be viewed as a
knitted texture on the workspace when the View / Fabric Texture option is ticked. Whichever format is
chosen, even without saving the stitch pattern, will be applied to Stitch Designer as well as Interactive
Knitting views until it is changed.

The images on the left demon-

strate the appearance of
stitch cables in a pattern in
different views. In the first
image the DesignaKnit 9 C2B
stitch cable is placed in a
stitch pattern, using the 'graphic' option. The second image shows the same cable when the 'C4B' option is
ticked. If fabric texture view is switched on and the stitch cable has a texture graphic it will display as it does
in the third image. If there is no available graphic, such as may be the case for custom designed cables,
either the symbols graphic or the boxed abbreviation will be superimposed on the Fabric Texture view,
depending on which format is ticked, as shown in the last two images, where a different (custom) cable was
selected.

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If a stitch cable contains Purl stitches, these are indicated by dots in the
graphic, such as shown in the image on the left. The dots are in the same
colour as the Grid and Cable markings as set in the Colour scheme (See
page 21) so that they are easily identifiable as belonging to one particular
crossing. This is shown here by enclosing one of the crossings in red. The
other Purl stitches in the pattern, including those that are added to some
stitch cables by DesignaKnit (See page 326) are in a colour that contrasts
with the yarn colour that they are applied to. In this example the Grid and Cables colour is black, so all
cable markings are black and the yarn colour is blue, which contrasts nicely with the other Purl dots which
are white.

If stitch cables with identical abbreviations, but different

(unique) descriptions are placed in the same stitch
pattern, the abbreviations are appended by a number to
distinguish them from each other, as shown in the
example to the left.
If one of these cables is deleted from the stitch pattern,
the appended number will disappear.

Switching between 'graphic' and 'C4B' notation affects the view of all stitch cables in the pattern and is
also a quick way of identifying them.

Cables Palette toolbar buttons:

Clicking the "Place" button will place the stitch cable that is shown in the drop down
window onto the workspace in the top left corner or on top of the cable that was last placed (See
also Placing Stitch Cables on page 323).

Clicking the "+" button opens the Stitch Cables Organizer (See page 311) from where the cables
palette can be amended by adding or removing stitch cables, changing the sort order etc. Clicking
the "Close" button in the Organizer reopens the DesignaKnit Cables palette with the newly applied
options.

Clicking the "-" button will remove the current cable that is shown in the "Cables Palette" window
from the palette, but leaves it in the Cables Organizer. If the cable to be removed is chosen from
the drop down list rather than the current one, it will first of all appear on the workspace. When the
"-" button is subsequently clicked this instance of the cable will be removed from both the palette
and the stitch pattern. Any other instances of this cable in the stitch pattern will be unaffected.

The scroll buttons can be used to step through the stitch cables on the palette one by one,
instead of using the drop down option. As the cables are scrolled through the one that appears in
the Cables palette window can be placed on the stitch pattern by clicking the "Place" button.

The "Edit" option is only available for custom stitch cables and, when clicked, will open
the "Edit Custom Cable" dialogue (See page 318).

Clicking either the red cross next to "Edit" or in the top right hand corner of the "Cables Palette"
window will close the palette, abandoning any incomplete actions.

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Stitch Cables Organizer

Naming system 312
Search Criteria 315
Working with stitch cables 317
Custom Cables 318
Example 321

The Palettes / Cables Organizer menu option displays all the stitch cables that are in the collection,
listed according to width and type. Different search criteria can be applied to find the desired cable quickly.
As well as the 168 stitch cables that are supplied by DesignaKnit 9, custom stitch cables can be created
and saved. Once they are added to the cables palette they will stay there until they are removed. A selec-
tion of frequently used stitch cables can be made readily available in this way.
The stitch cables that are supplied range from two stitches to crossings that span twelve stitches.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant section.

The left panel in the Organizer lists the stitch cables that can be chosen, in accordance with the search
criteria that have been set in the panel on the right hand side. All stitch cables can be scrolled through by
using the scroll bar or little triangles to the right of the section (see darker blue arrows in the image above)

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or they can be stepped through one by one by clicking the scroll arrows in the right hand side of the
dialogue (see light blue arrow). The currently selected cable has a pale green background.
The top section of the right hand panel (dark blue outline) contains the search criteria which can be applied
to find the desired cable (See on page 315). The next section (pink outline) contains hand knitting instruc-
tions for the current cable (See page 320). The third section (red outline) holds options for editing and
creating cables as well as various actions that can be applied to the cables palette (See on page 317). The
last section (light blue outline) is the general toolbar from where cables can be stepped through one by one
(see light blue arrow), the Cables Organizer can be closed and Help can be accessed.

The image on the left displays a few cables, based

on a search criterion to limit the selection to cables
that span 6 stitches, and demonstrates the different
indicators that each cable can have. If a cable is in
the palette it will display a pink square in front of the
'symbols view' graphic (see pink arrows). If it is
used in the current stitch pattern an additional blue
square will appear underneath the pink (see blue
arrows). If this is a custom stitch cable, its symbols
view graphic has a slightly orangey background
(see orange arrows).
In this image, two custom cables were added to the
palette, one of which has a fabric texture view
graphic and the other does not (see blue ovals).
The currently selected stitch cable (second from
the top in this image) has a pale green background.

Properties as well as the "Hand knitting

instruction" box (which is located on the right
hand side of the Cables Organizer) are
displayed in the image on the left. Each stitch
cable has its own properties and whereas
some properties can be identical to other
cables, the description, which reads
"Front/Left Crossover K3(k2) k3" in this
example, must be unique (See below).

The properties should be read in combination with the "Hand knitting instruction" for "This cable" to give
a clear indication of how the stitch cable is achieved.

Naming system
The abbreviations and descriptions of the supplied stitch cable are made up of certain elements and
adhere to a system to facilitate finding and identifying them, as well as giving as much idea as possible
about how they are to be worked. When creating custom stitch cables, the same system may be used,
although a personal system could be developed and used instead.
Abbreviations are used for supplied stitch cables to identify the type of cable while unique descriptions give
coded, concise knitting instructions. Comprehensive instructions are given in the "This cable - Hand

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knitting instruction" (See page 320) on the right hand side of the Cables Organizer dialogue. Abbreviations,
descriptions and Hand knitting instructions are all included in the "Pattern text" printout and for hand
knitting in the Interactive Knitting "Pattern text" Progress window.
The properties listed below are used in abbreviations as well as descriptions of the supplied stitch
cables. Although they mostly apply to hand knitting, they have been provided here in order to explain how
they are constructed.
It is better to use cable diagrams for Interactive Knitting and for printouts in Stitch Designer (stitch pat
picture, stitch pat symbols, garment picture, or garment symbols) rather than the abbreviations and descrip-
tions, as it makes it easier to see how the stitches are to be crossed for machine knitting. The diagrams
show how the crossing is to be worked, rather than how it will look on the right (finished) side of the fabric.

If both Knit and Purl stitches occur in the same row they will be knitted and purled automatically only by
using the Brother Garter Carriage, provided the stitch pattern is downloaded or fed into the machine by
reader sheet or punch card. Other knitting machines will require manual tooling of Purl stitches. The
stitch cable crossing will always need to be done by hand.

○ F or B - indicates whether the finished cable slants to the left ("F", first icon) or the right
("B", second icon). The stitches that are in front after knitting dictate the slant of the cable. The two
icons at the start of this paragraph can be found in the Cables Organizer dialogue where they can be
ticked to limit the search of stitch cables to left or right slanting cables, or both options can be ticked.
F or B are positioned at the beginning of the abbreviation for complex stitch cables and at (or near)
the end for simple ones.
Hand knitting: Stitches that are held on a cable needle at the front of the work will end up in front of
stitches that are subsequently knitted from the main needle, therefore the cable will slant to the left. If
stitches are held on a cable needle at the back of the work they will end up at the back of stitches that
are subsequently worked from the main needle, which will cause the cable to slant to the right.
Machine knitting: If the left hand transfer tool is crossed in front of the right hand one, the cable will
slant to the right (as viewed while knitting) because the stitches from the left will end up in front of the
others. If the right transfer tool is crossed in front of the left hand one, the cable will slant to the left.
When Wrong Side facing texture and Fair Isle fabric are viewed from the finished side, the crossings
will have the opposite slope from the one that was visible during knitting.
○ C - only occurs in simple crossings where identical numbers of stitches cross over each other or to
indicate the most common ways of crossing an uneven total number of stitches.
E.g., C4F - 2 over 2 stitches, C5F - 2 over 3 stitches, C5F - 3 over 2 stitches
○ Cr - occurs in simple crossings where less common ways off crossing are used and in all complex
crossings, where it appears after the F or B.
E.g., simple cross Cr5F - 4 over 1 stitches, Cr5F - 1 over 4 stitches
E.g., complex cross FCr5 - 1 stitch, 3 central, 1 stitch, FCr5 - 1 stitch, 1 central, 3 stitches, FCr5 - 2
stitches, 1 central, 2 stitches, FCr5 - 1 stitch, 1 central, 3 stitches
○ Number - indicates the number of stitches that the stitch cable consists of. A minimum of 2 stitches
are needed and up to 12 stitches can be selected from the supplied cables. More stitches can be
stipulated for custom cables, but at some point the stitches need to be stretched so much that it
becomes difficult to move them onto different needles on the needle bed and for hand knitting the
tension in the cable stitches at either end of the cable can result in an untidy fabric texture.
○ P - a "P" at the end of the abbreviation means that the stitches that form the background of the stitch
cable, or the central stitches for complex crossings are to be purled.

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○ Upper and lower case K and P - are used in the hand knitting descriptions to indicate stitches that
are knitted from the main knitting needle (upper case) as opposed to those that are knitted from the
cable needle (lower case). In complex crossings, lower case in brackets represents the central
stitches of complex crossings.
K2, k4 - is an example of the notation format for simple crossings. The first component, "K2", applies
to the main knitting needle for hand knitting and the leftmost transfer tool for machine knitting. The
second item, "k4", applies to the cable needle for hand knitting and the rightmost transfer tool for
machine knitting, so that in this example 4 stitches are placed on the rightmost transfer tool and 2 on
the leftmost.
K3(k2) K3 - is an example of the notation format for complex crossings. For hand knitting, the first
component, "K3(k2)", indicates the two sets of stitches that are to be placed on to cable needles,
which are held at front or back as indicated. The second "K3" is the set of stitches that is to be
worked from the main knitting needle. Stitches from the main needle are knitted first, after which the "
(k2)" cable needle set which holds the central stitches is worked, followed by the remaining "K3"
set.For machine knitting, the "(k2)" component indicates the central stitches, while both "K3" parts
indicate the transfer tools which are crossed over each other in the manner that is indicated, in front
of the central stitches that have not been moved.

Hand knitted stitch cables are always knitted from the right hand side of the chart and naming conven-
tions and instructions take this into account.

As it can take a little practice to read the cable abbreviations and descriptions, a few examples have been
given below, where an image of the stitch cable is shown with abbreviation and matching description,
which are described in detail:

C2F - Front/Left Cross K1, k1

○ C2F - the F is at the end of the abbreviation, indicating a simple crossing (See page 316). This stitch
cable involves 2 stitches (2) and the cable needle is brought to the front (F) of the knitting or, for
machine knitting, the stitch on the right hand side is crossed in front of the stitch on the left hand side.
If transfer tools are used, which is more likely if the cable consists of more stitches, the right hand
one (k1) is crossed in front of the left (K1).
○ Front/Left Cross K1, k1 - For hand knitting, the first stitch that is encountered when reading the
chart from right to left is placed on a cable needle that is brought to the front of the work, resulting in
the crossing slanting to the left (Front/Left). The next stitch on the main knitting needle (K1, upper
case) is then knitted (K) after which the stitch from the cable needle (k1, lower case) is knitted (k).For
machine knitting, the first stitch of the crossing that is encountered is placed on the right transfer tool
(k1), the second stitch on the left transfer tool (K1). The right transfer tool is crossed in front of the left
one and both stitches are transferred knitwise to their new positions.

C6BP - Back/Right Cross K3, p3

○ C6BP - indicates a simple crossing (B near the end). The stitch cable involves 6 stitches in total (6)
and the cable needle is held at the back (B) of the knitting or, for machine knitting, the set of stitches
on the right transfer tool (p3) is crossed along the back (B) of the set on the left transfer tool (in other
words: the left transfer tool is crossed in front of the right hand one). The P at the end of the abbre-
viation indicates that the stitches from the cable needle or right transfer tool are purled.
○ Back/Right Cross K3, p3 - is a short version of the complete Hand knitting instruction for this (K
over P) crossing, which can be found in the right hand section of the Cable Organizer and reads:

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"Slip next 3 stitches onto cable needle, hold at back, K3, then P3 from cable needle". For machine
knitting this is interpreted as: "Place both sets of stitches on transfer tools, cross the rightmost
transfer tool along the back of the left one (Back/Right). The stitches of the leftmost transfer tool are
placed knitwise (K3) and those of the rightmost transfer tool purlwise (p3). Moving the carriage
across the needle bed will complete the row.

FCr8 - Front/Left Crossover K3(k2) k3

○ FCr8 - the F is at the beginning of the abbreviation which indicates a complex crossing. The stitch
cable involves 8 stitches in total (8) and the cable slants to the left because the rightmost set of
stitches is crossed in front of the leftmost set across the central stitches (Front/Left).
○ Front/Left Crossover K3(k2) k3 - For hand knitting, three stitches, k3, are slipped onto a cable
needle which is held at the front and two stitches, (k2), are slipped onto another cable needle that is
held at the back of the knitting. Three stitches, K3, are worked from the main knitting needle after
which the two stitches from the cable needle at the back, (k2), are worked, followed by the three
remaining stitches of the cable needle at the front, k3. For machine knitting, the two sets of three
stitches either side of the central ones (k2) are placed onto transfer tools and the right transfer tool is
crossed in front of the left transfer tool. None of the stitches are purled as they are all K or k.

BCr4P - Back/Right Crossover K1(p2) k1

○ BCr4P - indicates a complex crossing because "B" is at the beginning of the abbreviation rather than
at or near the end (See page 313). The stitch cable involves 4 stitches (See page 313) and slants to
the right because the rightmost stitch is crossed along the back ("B" instead of "F") of the leftmost
stitch in front of the central stitches (Back/Right). The "P" at the end of the abbreviation indicates that
the central stitches are to be purled (See page 313).
○ Back/Right Crossover K1(p2) k1- For hand knitting, three stitches, k1 and (p2), are slipped onto a
cable needle which is held at the back of the work. One stitch, K1, is knitted from the main knitting
needle after which two stitches are slipped back from the cable needle to the left main knitting
needle. The cable needle with the one remaining stitch is then brought to the front of the work. The
two central stitches that have been transferred to the main knitting needle are now purled, and the
remaining stitch from the cable needle at the front (k1) is knitted. For machine knitting, the two
central stitches are placed in Purl position. The two stitches either side of the central stitches, (p2),
are then placed onto transfer tools if needed and the rightmost stitch is crossed along the back of the
leftmost.

The Description is unique, whereas the cable abbreviation can occur more than once.

Search Criteria
The view of the list of stitch cables in the collection can be limited by using the criteria listed below. As each
criterion is entered or removed DesignaKnit will react by limiting or expanding the list.
○ Source - Stitch cables can be DesignaKnit supplied or custom made. DesignaKnit 9 supplied cables
all have a [DK9] source, followed by a # and a unique number, while the ones supplied by Desig-
naKnit 8 will have a [DK8] source. When a custom cable is created, source, abbreviation and descrip-
tion all have to be entered otherwise the cable cannot be saved. Using meaningful notation is helpful
in finding specific stitch cables at a later time. Entering (part of) the source will limit the number of
stitch cables that is displayed. Leaving this field blank or unticking the box will display stitch cables
from all sources.

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○ Total cable width - A specific width can be searched for by entering the total number of stitches
involved in the stitch cable. While the supplied cables contain from two to twelve stitches, custom
cables could exceed this number if required, although they will be difficult to work with in practice.
○ Number of sts crossing in front - This limits the search to cables with a specific number of stitches
crossing in front of the cable. E.g., a stitch cable might be seven stitches wide, but only three stitches
will cross in front. The supplied cables only have Knit stitches crossing in front, while the stitches
along the back can be either Knit or Purl.

Ticking the check box in front of each of the three options above will untick the others, unless the "Ctrl"
key is held during clicking in which case the options can be combined. E.g., if a 7 stitch wide cable is
searched with 3 stitches crossing in front, the "Ctrl" key has to be held while clicking on "Total cable
width" and "Number of stitches" and setting the options to 7 and 3 respectively.

○ Supplied cables, Custom cables, Cables Palette, Used in current pattern - Any or all of these
can be ticked to limit the search. Unticking all of the boxes will display no cables at all. If the option to
include "Cables Palette" is ticked both supplied and custom stitch cables will be displayed, regard-
less of whether either or neither of these two options is ticked in addition. The last option is only avail-
able if the current stitch pattern contains stitch cables.
○ Stitches crossing at front - The left or right slant of the stitches that cross at the front can be
selected for searching. One or both of these options have to be ticked.
○ Crossing type - "Simple cross" (K over K), "Simple cross" (K over P) or "Complex cross" can be
searched for and each option will exclude the others. "All types" can be ticked to include all cable
crossings.

Simple crossings involve one set of stitches crossing

over another. Different combinations can be made,
ranging from half or near to half the total number of
stitches crossing over the other half, such as 3 over 3, 4
over 3, 4 over 5 etc. More unusual crossings, such as 5
over 1, 1 over 7 etc. can also be made. Standard cross-
ings are indicated by a "C" in the abbreviation while more
unusual cables are indicated by "Cr".
For simple crosses, there is a choice of whether the Knit
stitches are crossed over Knit (K over K) or over Purl (K
over P). K over P crossings are generally used for travel-
ling stitches where one side of the cable may be Purl and
the other Knit. Examples are shown on the right in Grid as well as Fabric view of both types. Desig-
naKnit adds Purl stitches on the following row above the back crossing stitches of the K over P
cable. The red rectangle highlights one of the cables including the automatically added Purl
stitches. All other Purl stitches in both patterns have been added later to make the cable stand out
from its background.

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Complex crossings consist of two sets of

stitches crossing in front of one or more
central stitches. The supplied stitch cables
always have Knit stitches on both sides of
the crossing, but the central stitches can
be either Knit or Purl. On clicking
"Complex cables", the "Central stitches"
section becomes available, in which the
number of central stitches can be decided,
and whether they should be Knit or Purl.
The images on the right show two supplied
cables in Grid and Fabric Texture view.
Purl stitches have been added manually to
the edges of the cable to make it stand out. Where the central stitches are Purl, Purl stitches are
added directly above the cable by DesignaKnit (see red arrows), but the cable does not stand out
nicely until more Purl stitches have been added (see red rectangle).
It is preferable to use two cable needles for complex crossings in hand knitting. One to hold the
initial stitches for the crossing and one to hold the central stitches. A similar result can be
produced by using only one cable needle and slipping all the cable stitches onto it. After knitting
the stitches from the main knitting needle, the central stitches can be slipped back from the left
hand side of the cable needle onto the main knitting needle and worked. The rest of the stitches
from the cable needle can finally be worked. However, using this method has a drawback in that
the front crossing stitches will not lie flat over the central ones.
○ Sort Cables - although not strictly speaking a search criterion, this option can be used to order the
displayed list by Source or Cable width. Only one of the four options can be selected.
• Clicking "Source (A - Z)" arranges the custom stitch cables at the top of the list and the supplied
cables to the bottom.
• Clicking "Source (Z - A)" arranges the supplied cables at the top of the list and the custom cables
to the bottom.
• Clicking "Narrow - wide" displays the narrowest cables at the top, mixing supplied and custom
cables.
• Clicking "Wide - narrow" displays the widest cables at the top, mixing supplied and custom
cables.

Working with stitch cables

When viewing this manual on the

computer, the cursor may be hovered
over the image. Where the cursor
changes to a hand it can be clicked on as
a quick way of getting to the relevant
section.
Stitch cables can be added to or removed from the current palette, edited, deleted, viewed or created.

Only one of these options can be active for any

cable as it is either on the palette or not.
Clicking the relevant button will Add or Remove
the highlighted stitch cable.

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Clicking the "Remove from Palette" option will only remove the cable from the palette, leaving it in the
Cables Organizer.

Clicking the 'Audible Alerts' button presents the dialogue

shown on the left from which an alert can be selected for the
current stitch cable. The alert will sound in Interactive Knitting
when the row where the stitch cable occurs is reached. Although
primarily for machine knitters, it can also be handy for hand
knitters to use this option to warn of impending cable actions.
Which sounds, if any, will be heard depends on each user's
individual Windows setup. E.g., if a 'no-sounds' sound scheme
has been selected, there will be no sounds, whatever alert is
chosen. Also, if sounds were disabled or muted in the volume
mixer, there will be no sounds. These settings can be found in
Windows Control panel and the sound icon in the Windows task
bar (usually on the bottom right hand side of the Windows
screen). Each of the sounds can be configured in the Control
panel, in order to distinguish clearly between them.
Alerts can be set up for Custom as well as for Supplied cables, although the way to access the alert is
slightly different. Custom cables can be edited, including their Alerts, from the Cables palette as the "Edit"
option will be available. For Supplied cables, the "Edit" option is greyed out and setting an alert needs to be
accessed through the Cables Organizer on the Left Toolbar, where the musical note button can be clicked
in the bottom right section of the "Collection of Hand and Machine Cables" window.

Custom Cables
DesignaKnit supplied stitch cables are read only to maintain their integrity but can be used as templates for
designing custom cables. The process and different options of creating and editing a Custom Cable have
been described below.

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The "New Custom Cable" button is used to

create a custom cable based on a supplied cable
and "Edit Cable" can be clicked to edit a custom
cable. If the "Edit Cable" button is clicked on a
supplied cable, the following message appears:

Whichever of these two buttons is clicked, the

"Edit Custom Cable" dialogue as shown on the
left is presented.
The initial content of this dialogue is based on the
currently selected stitch cable. Source, Abbre-
viation and Description are all blank if "New
Custom Cable" was clicked and all three fields
need to be filled in so that a new custom cable
can be saved.
Source is used in the Cables Organizer to be
able to sort through the list of stitch cables. Abbre-
viation and description are used for the pattern
text printout and are shown in the row by row
"Pattern Text" Progress window for hand knitting
in Interactive Knitting.
All options are described individually below. It is
useful to decide on a naming system when
creating custom cables in order to group them and facilitate searching at a later stage.
Source - custom stitch cables could be given [ ] brackets, but this will mix them with the supplied cables,
making it harder to tell them apart. Using an alphanumeric name will keep supplied and custom cable lists
separate in a natural way. "Source" text can be any combination of up to 10 characters.
Abbreviation - can be any combination of up to 8 characters and does not have to be unique. The Desig-
naKnit structure could be followed (See page 313) or random abbreviations may be used instead, although
it is useful to adhere to some kind of system.
Description - must be unique and can contain up to 40 characters. If a DesignaKnit description is used (by
copying and pasting it in this location) it must be made unique, perhaps by adding initials or other charac-
ters.
Total cable width - is the number of stitches that is involved in the stitch cable and is a minimum of 2. A
maximum of 30 stitches can be specified, although a cable as wide as that will not be easily, if at all,
workable.
Stitches crossing at front - the number as well as the direction of the slant can be chosen in this section.
For simple crossings any viable combination can be made, such as crossing 3 stitches over 3 of a 6 stitch
wide cable, 2 over 4 or 5 over 1. For complex crossings two sets of stitches are crossed over one or more
central stitches, involving more manoeuvring of the cable needles for hand knitting. Combinations that are
less likely to be used for practical reasons (e.g., unwarranted strain on the yarn or too much distortion of the
fabric), such as 1 stitch over 6, or 6 over 1, have not been included in the supplied cables, but can be
achieved by creating a custom cable.

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All supplied simple cables have Knit stitches crossing in front. For supplied complex cables, both sections
that are crossed are Knit, while the central stitch(es) may be Knit or Purl. Custom Cables can be designed
with Knit and Purl stitches in unusual positions.
Crossing Type - can be simple or complex (See page 316).
Central stitches - is greyed out until "Complex cross" is chosen after which a value can be selected. There
has to be at least one stitch on either side of the central stitches and if the number of central stitches
exceeds this, the total cable width will automatically increase to accommodate it. On decreasing, the total
width will not shrink automatically.
Show same texture as which supplied cable - is emptied as soon as the "Total cable width" entry is
changed, after which a different image (or none) can be chosen to represent the stitch cable in fabric
texture view. Clicking on the drop down arrow (see blue arrow in image above) will present all images that
match the proposed cable width, up to a width of twelve stitches. If "None" is chosen, the cable will be
displayed as a box with a line drawing representing the cable.

The texture image (blue arrow) is independent of

the graphic representation (red arrow) of a custom
cable. The former can be chosen at random and
the latter is calculated by DesignaKnit, by taking
the total cable width, the number of stitches
crossing in front and the crossing type into
account. In the examples shown here, the same
custom cable with the same abbreviation and
description was selected. The top image shows
the graphic that is composed from a total width of
6, 3 stitches crossing in front and a simple (K over
K) crossing type. The texture image was chosen
from one of the existing supplied cables to represent the properties of the abbreviation and description as
closely as possible and therefore includes purl stitches. Keeping all properties the same, a completely
different, and incorrect, image was chosen in the middle image. The bottom image shows the first texture
image with the same cable width of 6, 3 stitches crossing in front and this time, a simple (K over P) crossing
type, which resulted in displaying purl dots in the graphic. Their presence will add purl stitches above (or
below) the stitch cable as necessary. If the stitch cable pattern is in Grid view, the graphic will be shown. In
Texture view, the chosen texture image, whether this correctly represents the cable or not, will be shown.
If a custom cable includes stitch types which cannot be displayed by DesignaKnit, e.g., a stitch cable with
Purl stitches crossing in front, or a ribbed cable where the cable stitches alternate between Knit and Purl,
the Fabric Texture view will not be able to represent the stitches accurately. In these cases it may be less
confusing to choose "None".
This cable - a "Hand knitting instruction" can be given to describe the exact procedure of knitting the new
stitch cable. This instruction will be shown in full in the key to abbreviations in the "Pattern text" printout
(See on page 69). This instruction can be as verbose as needed because the field can contain up to 500
characters. A running count down is shown at the top right hand side of the box (see red oval in the image
above). When a cable is highlighted (pale green background) in the cable list, its accompanying "Hand
knitting instruction" is shown in the "This Cable" section on the right. Transfer tools are used in machine
knitting to transfer stitches from where they are to their new positions on the needle bed. Supplied cables
do not have specific machine knitting instructions, but they could easily be added by copying, amending
and saving a supplied cable as a new custom cable. To find the cable at a later stage it is important to use a
naming system that allows it to be identified and located easily, possibly by using the same source and
abbreviation, then appending "-M" to the end of the description.

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- an audible alert can be set (See page 318) by clicking the musical note button at the bottom left hand
side of the dialogue (see blue circle).
Save - after all necessary options have been selected and amended to requirements, the stitch cable can
be saved. The "Save" button is greyed out until a source, abbreviation or description has been entered. All
three fields need to be filled before a cable can actually be saved. To add the new stitch cable to the
palette, the "Add to Palette" button (See page 317) needs to be clicked after which it is available and can be
used across all DesignaKnit sessions.

Example

A custom designed cable might look similar to

the one shown on the left, in which the Desig-
naKnit Naming system (See page 312) has
been followed loosely.
The source (see red circle) is given as the
initials of the designer. A number could have
been added to keep track of how many
cables there are in this source group. The
cable abbreviation (see blue arrow) is based
on the DesignaKnit system, where the "B" (or "F") is at the front to indicate a complex cross and "7" to show
the cable consists of 7 stitches. "-purl" was appended to indicate that this is a purled cable, as opposed to
the supplied cables in which the crossings are 'Knit'. The unique description (purple arrow) shows clearly
that the crossings are to be purled while the central stitches are Knit.
The knitting instructions that are printed in Pattern text can be written in the Cables Organizer. They could
be something like "Slip 2 stitches onto cable needle and hold at front. Slip next 3 stitches onto cable needle
and hold at back. Purl 2 stitches from main cable, Knit 3 stitches from cable needle at back then Purl 2 from
remaining cable needle."
For machine knitting, a further sentence might be added or used to replace the hand knitting instruction,
such as "Place the 2 leftmost and rightmost stitches on left and right transfer tool respectively. Cross the
left transfer tool in front of the right."

As there is no readily available image for cables that are purled, either
'None' could have been chosen or, as in this case, a cable that is vaguely
similar (see red arrow above). In this case 'None' could easily have been
preferred as the image does not show Purl and does not show that there
are to be 3 central stitches. However, it does represent the correct cable
slant and division of central and flanking stitches.
If the graphic representation is ticked (see orange arrow in the image
above) the cable will be represented correctly on the workspace,
slanting in the right direction and with the correct number of stitches in total, central stitches and crossings,
as shown here.

A custom stitch cable can be created by clicking on a supplied cable that approximates the
desired new one, so that the basic values are already in place. Source, abbreviation and
description will be blank and need to be typed in and all other information can be changed to
suit requirements.

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Supplied cables all have mirror copies so they can be flipped in the stitch pattern by using the "Ctrl" key. In
order for DesignaKnit to 'pair up' custom stitch cables to be each other's mirror, they must have the same
total width, the same number of front and back crossing stitches, and slope in the opposite direction. If a
complex cross is used, they must also have the same number of central stitches of the same type (Knit or
Purl).

The "Delete Cable" button is only available for custom cables and will be greyed out
for supplied cables. Deleting a cable in the Organizer will remove it from the Cables
Organizer, the Cables Palette and the current stitch pattern. In order to delete a
cable it has to be highlighted (pale green background) after which the "Delete Cable" button can be clicked.

The message shown on the right will appear if the

cable is used in the pattern. If "Yes" is clicked, the
cable will be deleted from the Organizer and from
the stitch pattern as soon as the Cables Organizer
is closed.
If another stitch pattern containing the deleted cable is opened, it is still present and displayed on the stitch
pattern as a valid stitch cable. At this point it can be imported back into the Cables Organizer list if this is
required. If the "Import Cables" button in the Cables Organizer dialogue is available, it is a sure sign that
deleted stitch cables exist in the current stitch pattern. The deleted stitch cable can be identified by clicking
the "dropper" tool on the Left Toolbar (See on page 105) and hovering the cursor over each cable in the
pattern. As long as DesignaKnit is in Symbol mode (See page 224) the information pertaining to the
deleted stitch cable will appear in one long line in the status bar, detailing that it can be added back into the
collection, as shown below.

Deleted cables are available for importing as long as they exist in another pattern. If a stitch cable does not
exist in any stitch patterns except the current one, clicking the "Delete Cable" button will permanently
remove any trace of it.

Only Custom Cables can be deleted, the DesignaKnit supplied cables are read only.

The "Import Cables" button is greyed out and unavailable unless a custom stitch
cable that is used in the current stitch pattern is not in the Cables Organizer list.
There are two scenarios in which this can happen. The first one is if the cable has
been deleted from the Organizer in a different stitch pattern but still exists in the current one. The second
scenario is if the stitch pattern originates from another user and contains an unknown custom stitch cable.
When a stitch cable pattern is saved, all information relating to that custom cable is saved with it, so if the
stitch pattern is opened by another DesignaKnit user, that information will be accessible and the new
custom cable(s) can be added to their Cables Organizer collection by using the "Import" function.

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When the "Import Cables" button is clicked, DesignaKnit will present a dialogue as shown above, listing
deleted and / or non-existing stitch cables.
More details of the highlighted cable (pale green background) can be seen by clicking the "Show details"
button. The only detail that can be edited in the resulting dialogue is the Audible Alert (musical note button),
after which the "Save" option becomes available. The cable images on the left hand side can be clicked
one by one or the "Select All" button can be clicked and a green tick will appear on the selected cable(s). If
the green tick mark is clicked, this will deselect the cable to be imported. Clicking "OK" accepts the ticked
stitch cable(s) into the Cables Organizer as new custom stitch cable(s). In this example, details in the "This
Cable" section belong to the highlighted unticked C2Bdel2 cable. Only the ticked 'test' cable will be
imported after clicking "OK".

Deleted stitch cables can be imported if they exist in a different stitch pattern than the one they were
deleted from.

The entire Cables Palette can be emptied if necessary, which may be useful if the
palette has become cluttered. Rather than removing cables one by one, all can be
removed in one action by clicking this button.

The informational message shown on the right will be

displayed and clicking "Yes" will empty the palette of all stitch
cables. This action cannot be undone and any stitch cables
that need to be on the palette will need to be added one by
one.

If there are stitch cables in the current pattern, the

dialogue shown here will be presented on accessing
the Cables Palette or Organizer. Selecting "Yes" will
add them to the palette. This dialogue will appear at
any time when there are stitch cables in the pattern
that are not on the cables palette.

Clicking the "View All Cables" button displays all the cables in the Organizer, reset-
ting the search criteria to show each and every cable that is in the collection. The
Home or End key on the keyboard may be pressed to go to the top or end of the list.

Placing Stitch Cables

A single stitch cable is placed on a single row in a stitch pattern. To create a cable pattern a number of
stitch cable motifs need to be placed in a regular pattern. Cables cannot be placed on adjacent rows and
must be separated by at least one row of knitting.

After a few cables are placed, a selection box can be drawn around them and large cable
structures can be built quickly by using Copy and Paste (See on page 76). Care needs to be
taken as it is possible to place stitch cables on 'illegal' positions by using this method,
although a warning will be presented on saving, printing and checking the stitch pattern.

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A cable can only be placed onto a stitch pattern if it is

present in the Cables palette. It can either be added
directly in the Stitch Cables Organizer by clicking the
"Add to Palette" button (See page 317), or the "+" button
on the palette (See page 310) can be clicked to access
the Cables Organizer.
The image on the left shows a dropped down list of
cables that are on the "Cables Palette".
When a cable is settled on by clicking it, it will appear in
the top left hand corner of the stitch pattern or in the
position where the last stitch cable was placed,
surrounded by a dotted outline. If the stitch pattern is in
fabric texture view, a textured view will appear as long as
there is an applicable graphic. In grid view, the graphic
that represents the cable or, if the "C4B" view was
selected, a box with the abbreviation will appear (See
page 309).
The "Tab" key can be pressed to provide location inform-
ation of the currently highlighted instance of the cable in
the status bar, which can make it easy to place a cable at a precise stitch location within a row. The "Esc"
key can be used to close the Cables palette, thereby cancelling the current action. "Ctr-Z" or the "Undo"
button can be used to undo any actions (up to 20 levels).

After a cable has been selected, appearing at the top left hand side of the workspace with a
dotted outline, it can be switched to its left-right mirror image by using the "Ctrl" key.

Clicking or double clicking outside of the motif with the dotted outline, pressing "Shift", "Enter" or clicking
"Place" will all fix a copy of the stitch cable into position. The cable motif (still surrounded by a dotted line)
can then be moved by mouse or keyboard arrow keys to the next required position. This action can be
repeated as many times as necessary, so that a cable can be created quite quickly, e.g., by repeating
"Enter, down arrow twice" until all motifs are placed. Double clicking on a stitch cable motif will fix the last
cable motif into place, and the dotted outline will vanish. The Cables palette will stay open to enable more
cables to be placed.
If the "Ctrl" key is pressed while the dotted outline is visible, the stitch cable will be flipped horizontally to its
mirrored copy, if a mirror cable is available in the Cables Organizer. All supplied cables have mirror
images, but custom stitch cables may not, as they are user defined (See page 322).

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The result of using "Place", "Shift" or "Enter" to fix, dragging or using keyboard arrow keys to fix copies into
different positions and "Ctrl" to flip some instances of a (supplied) cable motif is shown in the images
above. The graphic view was chosen instead of the "C4B" view. In the first image the cable properties are
shown as well as the initial cable motif, surrounded by a dotted line, in the top left hand corner. The second
and third images show the cable in progress in Grid and Fabric Texture view respectively.
If another cable is chosen from the palette, it will initially be positioned on top of the last stitch cable that
was placed. The new motif will replace the previous one unless it is moved elsewhere before fixing it into
place. If the Cables Palette is closed and reopened before selecting a (new) cable, the first instance will
appear in the top left hand corner.

While moving a cable it can seem as if cables

can be placed on adjacent rows, as shown in
the first image on the left, but this is not the
case. As soon as the cable is fixed into place,
the adjacent cable(s) will be removed, as can
be seen in the second image. The new cable
was positioned between two existing ones.
On pressing the "Shift" key the new one stays
put while both adjacent cables are removed.
In this example, the two remaining cables are
on an odd and even row, which is only possible if the (hand) method is Circular.

DesignaKnit prevents cables being placed on adjacent rows and jumps over 'illegal' positions for the
hand knitting methods.

Stitch cables can only be placed on a right side row for Flat hand knitting, which will be an odd numbered
row unless the first row has been specified as a wrong side row (See on page 306). If a circular method is
used the stitch cables can be placed on odd and / or even numbered rows.Stitch cables can be placed on
odd and / or even, but not adjacent rows for machine knitting methods.

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Stitch Cables (Complete)

When a cable is placed, DesignaKnit adjusts the stitch types to match the cable and
will also do this for the adjacent rows above and below, to result in a smooth cable. In
the image on the left, Purl stitches appear in the rows above each cable motif after
fixing it into place. The bottom cable has not yet been fixed into place so the Purl
stitches above it are not present yet.

Knit and Purl stitches can be edited by using

the Pencil tool. This can be very useful in, for
example, travelling stitches to ensure that the
stitches make a smooth transition between
cable and background knitting, as shown in
the two images on the far left. The top image
on the right shows the grid view where two
different cable types travel across the stitch
pattern, with Purl stitches in between. The
cables on the left are C4B, while the cables
on the right are C4BP. After placing the
cables, all stitches in between have manually
been changed to Purl by using the Pencil tool. Alternatively, an area may be filled with Purl stitches prior to
placing the cables. The Fabric Texture view, as shown in the bottom image, will adapt to show the correct
stitches.

When cables are placed initially, DesignaKnit will place any Purl stitches that are needed in the appro-
priate places. However, these stitches are not part of the stitch cable, so that if a cable is subsequently
moved by using the Lasso tool, or if it is flipped by using the "Ctrl" key, the Purl stitches stay where they
are and need to be added or deleted manually as required.

While the Pencil tool can be used to edit

individual stitches above, below and around
each cable, if it is clicked on one of the
stitches of the cable itself, all stitches of the
motif are changed to the background stitch of
the pattern, effectively deleting the stitch
cable. The first image on the left shows the
Pencil tool hovered over the stitch cable and
the second image shows the result of clicking the Pencil once. The Lasso tool will no longer work and
neither can the cable type be displayed by using the "C4B" setting or the dropper tool. The Undo button or
"Ctrl-Z" can be used to step back through the changes.

The Lasso tool (first icon on the left) can be very useful when working with cables as it can be
used to move, delete or flip stitch cables that are already fixed into place (See page 91). Its option needs to
be set to Symbol mode by clicking the second icon shown at the start of this paragraph in order to pick up
the stitch cable motif (See page 90). The Lasso tool defaults to Colour mode unless there is only one colour
in the pattern. Clicking the Lasso tool, then clicking on the cable to be moved will surround it with a dotted

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 Stitch Cables (Complete)

line. Holding and dragging can be used to move the motif and it can even be deleted by dragging it off the
stitch pattern workspace or by pressing the "Del" key.
The stitch cable motif can be moved by mouse or keyboard. As the cable motif will only appear on 'legal'
positions, the key board arrow may have to be pressed twice vertically for it to appear in the required
position.
After a stitch cable is fixed into place, the Lasso tool can also be used to flip it by activating it, clicking and
holding on a cable, then pressing the "Ctrl" key.

Stitch cables can easily be identified after they have been placed by clicking the Dropper button
and hovering the cursor over the cable. Its name and detailed information will appear in the status bar
below the workspace. Alternatively, the 'C4B' option (See page 309) can be ticked in the Cables Palette
to display all stitch cable names in the entire pattern.

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Lace (Complete)

Lace
Lace Symbols 329
Drawing Lace 331
Lace on specific machines 333

On clicking this button the stitch symbols palette will become visible if it was not already open, the
appropriate Lace tool symbols will be added if necessary and the cursor changes (See page 332) to draw
with the smart lace symbols, which results in stitches being transferred to leave eyelets where required.
Lace knitting can be especially pleasing if it is used in combination with fine yarns. Lace can be used with
other techniques, such as Fair Isle or Tuck, but as these cannot be combined in the same row as lace trans-
fers and must be in separate bands of patterning. The pattern is separated into transfer and knit rows and
after downloading, the necessary instructions are provided by Interactive Knitting for setting and using the
carriage(s). Warning messages are produced if the lace symbols are not placed correctly. As the lace
stitches have an associated texture, the result can be previewed by using the View / Fabric Texture menu
option in Stitch Designer.
The Lace drawing tool was developed for machine knitters and its real power lies in designing lace for
knitting machines with a lace carriage, but as it can also be useful to hand knitters, it has been made avail-
able for all product levels of DesignaKnit 9. Lace sequences can be placed easily by clicking the cursor at
the start, then holding and dragging it as far as needed. This will ensure the eyelets and decreases match,
which can be checked with the Stitch Designer Check function. Decrease symbols ("/" and "\") are automat-
ically placed at the end of each drawn lace sequence and give a bias to the stitches which is illustrated
when they are shown in Fabric Texture view. Where two lace sequences meet, a central decrease symbol
is placed.
These symbols carry abbreviations and instructions that are not specific to lace knitting and this may be
confusing when a Pattern or Garment text printout is produced. For lace patterns, the instructions might be
changed with the Text Editor (see the Stitch Designer manual) as the palette information is saved with the
stitch pattern. Decrease symbols may be replaced by Knit, Purl or other stitch symbols by using the
'Replace' function of the palette (as described in the Stitch Designer manual in the "Palettes" chapter) or by
using the Pencil tool to replace them individually. Any contiguous series of lace symbols will be deleted by
clicking on the eyelet that defines it. If symbols within the sequence have been added or replaced, the lace
sequence can no longer be removed by clicking on an eyelet as each symbol will have become an
individual stitch symbol instead of part of a lace sequence.
The Lace tool is purely intended as an aid to facilitate the drawing of lace sequences when used for hand
knitting patterns. If it is used on its own, the lace sequence will be correct but if the Pencil tool is used within
the Lace sequence, the Stitch Designer Check option will not find any errors that may have been made.
When the Lace tool is clicked, lace patterns can be created by using the LMB or RMB to click and hold on
the stitch cell where the eyelet needs to be, after which the mouse can be dragged in the required transfer
direction and let go on the stitch that needs the corresponding decrease. Intermediate transfer stitches will
be added automatically where appropriate.

Lace Symbols are placed correctly, relative to each other and in the proper sequence if they are drawn
with the Lace tool. Each lace sequence behaves as one symbol and can be deleted by clicking on its
starting symbol.

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 Lace (Complete)

If the button is clicked and the stitch pattern

has a method that is incompatible with lace,
the warning that is shown on the right will be
displayed. The Wrong side facing texture is
probably the most natural choice because this is generally considered the normal method of knitting on
Japanese knitting machines. Sections of Lace and Fair Isle may be used in the same stitch pattern and
either Fair Isle or Wrong side facing texture are good choices when working with lace patterns.
If either of the Right / Wrong side facing texture methods is used, and there is only one colour per row, it
can be transparent or opaque. If there are more colours per row, the opaque colour is seen as the real yarn
colour, while the transparent colours are regarded for memo purposes.

Lace Symbols
The lace smart symbols have an associated 'texture' which is used to see a representation of the finished
knitting. This representation is not entirely accurate as decreases have to be shown on a single stitch cell
instead of over the two adjacent cells that are affected. However, the bias of the transferred stitches, as
well as the lace eyelets are well represented to give a good idea of how the stitch pattern will look when
knitted.
The symbols that are specifically used for machine lace knitting are displayed with a light green
background in the Symbols Organizer. These symbols are 'smart' for machine knitting and have specific
functions in DesignaKnit so it is recommended to use them only for lace knitting. DesignaKnit constructs
the carriage passes and needle selection according to the lace symbols and provides carriage instructions
during Interactive Knitting. Each symbol has specific functionality, as described in the table below.

Smart symbol Description

Eyelet - an eyelet is created by transferring a stitch onto an adjacent needle.

When the carriage is passed over the empty needle, it leaves a loop there, which
is picked up on the next pass of the carriage, so creating a lacy hole in the fabric.
When drawing lace, this symbol is placed at the point where the mouse button is
first clicked. The mouse can be held and dragged across the stitches that are to
be transferred and let go at the point where the actual decrease needs to occur. In
machine knitting patterns the lace eyelet is a solid black circle and if the method is
hand knitting, the open circle is used.

Eyelet - The open eyelet is used to indicate the place where the lace hole is to
appear.

Right (Left) Transfer - each stitch will be transferred to an empty needle immedi-
ately to the right (or left) when this symbol is placed in the stitch pattern. With the
Lace tool activated, it will be placed on each stitch that is traversed as the mouse
is dragged away from the eyelet, until it is released, at which point the decrease
symbol is placed. Which mouse button is used dictates whether only one (RMB)
or multiple (LMB) transfers are placed on the pattern.
For hand knit patterns - these stitches indicate the end of the lace sequence as
well as the bias of the decrease, which can be seen when viewing the pattern in
Fabric Texture view. Their abbreviations and instructions might be changed in the
Text Editor in Stitch Designer.

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Smart symbol Description

Right (Left) Decrease - this symbol causes the stitch to be transferred to the
needle immediately to the right (or left), resulting in two stitches on one needle. It
is the end point of a sequence of transfers and will be placed automatically when
drawing with the Lace tool. In single lace transfers (such as for Brother Fine Lace,
where only two stitches are involved in the transfer) the decrease is placed
adjacent to the eyelet. In multiple lace transfers, where the transfers span a
range, it is placed at the end of the range when the mouse button is released.
Double Decrease - this symbol causes the stitches on either side to be placed
onto a central needle, resulting in three stitches on one needle. This symbol will
be placed on the grid automatically where transfers from opposite directions
meet.
For hand knit patterns - This symbol will appear where two opposite lace
sequences meet.
Right (Left) Fine Lace Transfer - this symbol is available with Brother knitting
machines only, and will be placed automatically if a Brother knitting machine is
selected. It represents a Fine Lace transfer to the right (or left) and is drawn by
clicking, holding and dragging the RMB to the right (or left). As the stitch is only
partially transferred to the next needle by stretching the yarn loop over two
needles, it can only occur on adjacent needles. Brother Fine Lace can occur on
the same row as normal lace, but cannot be used within a normal lace transfer
sequence. If Brother Fine lace symbols are used in a stitch pattern and the
knitting machine is subsequently changed to a knitting machine other than
Brother, DesignaKnit will display an error message on saving or checking the
stitch pattern.

A hand knit lace pattern has been shown on

the left to demonstrate some effects that may
be achieved. As the Lace tool has been used
to place al the symbols, this pattern is also
easily used as a machine knit pattern if so
desired.
The bias of the decrease stitches in the lower
part of the pattern and the central decreases
are shown clearly in Fabric Texture view.
Checking the lace stitch pattern by using the
button in the Stitch Designer Top Toolbar or
the Check menu option will not show possible
errors as the symbols are treated as individual
stitches after they have been placed, exactly
as if they had been placed with the Pencil tool.
Lace sequences that are contiguous, where
there is no gap between eyelet and decrease
symbol (see blue arrows) can be deleted as a
whole by clicking the eyelet. Sequences where there is a gap between eyelet and decrease (see red
arrows) are treated as individual symbols.

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 Lace (Complete)

In the example on the left a Brother knitting machine was

selected before the stitch pattern was drawn. Only Brother
machines can deal with the triangle markings (see red
circles) that indicate "Fine Lace" transfers.

The same lace pattern is

shown again in fabric texture
view to demonstrate how
DesignaKnit represents the
smart symbols.
The full eyelets (circle
symbols) produce larger
holes than the Fine Lace
transfers (triangle symbols).

Using Brother "Fine Lace" symbols with a different make of knitting machine will produce error
messages and knitting will not start. Either the knitting machine has to be changed to a Brother or the
stitch pattern has to be changed to replace the Fine Lace by normal Left or Right transfer symbols.

Drawing Lace
It is possible to place lace symbols on to the stitch pattern manually by activating the Pencil tool, then
selecting and placing each symbol where required. However, this can easily lead to errors as the place-
ment of each symbol needs to be well understood.

The pattern can be checked frequently

by clicking the Check symbol at the far right
of the Top Toolbar or using the Check menu
option to ensure all symbols are placed
correctly.
The "Check once for colour changes etc."
option in the dialogue can be clicked after
which DesignaKnit will either display "No
errors found" or it will display error messages
such as the ones shown here.
Clicking "OK" returns the program to the
workspace where errors may be corrected.
DesignaKnit does not mark the pattern when these errors occur. After correcting, "Check" can be run again
to ensure all errors have been eliminated.

Using the Lace tool to create lace will greatly diminish the chance of errors.

The Lace tool is activated by clicking the button on the Left Toolbar. This ensures that the necessary
symbols are loaded in the palette, supplying correct symbol sequences when drawing lace. Instead of
adding each symbol by hand, clicking, holding and dragging the mouse inserts the symbol sequences as
required.

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When the Lace tool is clicked, the cursor changes to an arrow with the lace symbol at the bottom
right. The arrow tip is the active part of the cursor and has to be placed over the stitch where the
eyelet needs to appear, after which it can be clicked, held and dragged in the direction of the
intended transfer(s). An eyelet will be placed at the start position and a decrease symbol at the
end position. Any stitches in between, and the final decrease will show the direction and bias of the trans-
ferred stitches.
Drawing with LMB - Clicking, holding and dragging with the Left Mouse Button (LMB) results in a
sequence of symbols being placed on the workspace, starting with an eyelet and ending with a decrease
symbol. Any number of transfer stitches can be in between these two 'end' symbols, and are represented
by "/" or "\" symbols, depending on whether the mouse, and therefore the direction of the transfers, is
dragged to the right or left.
On Brother machines this technique is achieved with the lace carriage set at "N" for Normal Lace. Silver
Reed refers to this technique as 'Fashion Lace' and it is achieved with the lace carriage set to "P" until all
the transfers for a pair of rows are completed, after which the carriage has to be set to knit.
Drawing with RMB - RMB lace drawing involves two stitches only, which can be transferred in either direc-
tion. Clicking, holding and dragging with the Right Mouse Button (RMB) results in an eyelet and a decrease
symbol being placed next to each other. This produces a single transfer, provided the carriage direction is
suitable.
Brother refers to this technique as 'Fine Lace' and it is achieved with the lace carriage set at "F". Silver
Reed refers to this technique as 'Simple Lace' and it is achieved with the carriage set to "L".
While the Lace tool is active, any other mouse button settings will be overridden. As soon as the Lace tool
is switched off, by clicking its Left Toolbar button, selecting a different tool or clicking a colour or symbol
(including a lace symbol) in the palette, the normal mouse button settings for the palette will be restored.
Other than making sure that lace is drawn according to general lace rules, or those imposed by the knitting
machine, no further calculations need to be performed for lace separation when the Lace tool is used.
When drawing a lace pattern in Stitch Designer, the finished pattern is drawn as it will look when knitted.
Punch card template prints will not resemble the lace pattern on the workspace because template prints
map the transfer rows (not the pattern) while Mylar sheets show blank rows as well (See on page 399).
The Lace tool will:
○ Insert the eyelet, transfer and decrease symbols in the direction of drawing
○ Insert a double decrease symbol where lace transfers from opposite directions meet
○ Prevent placement of eyelets on adjacent stitches within the same row
○ Warn of invalid lace sequences for the selected knitting machine when saving or checking the
pattern
○ Remove the eyelet, its matching decrease and any transfers in that sequence with a single click on
an eyelet symbol with either the LMB or RMB

If a template is produced for a pattern that is drawn with the Lace Tool, or contains sections that are
drawn with the Lace tool, the Lace stitches that are being transferred will involve needle selection. The
template will be marked with a Lace symbol, stitch marking or asterisk on the rows that contain Lace
symbols, depending on the options chosen in the setup of the stitch pattern template (See page 392).

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 Lace (Complete)

Lace on specific machines

Silver Reed 334
Brother 334
Toyota 336
Punch cards and Reader sheets 336

For knitting machines with a lace carriage, using the Lace tool will take the guesswork out of drawing the
correct lace sequences.
When smart lace symbols are used, DesignaKnit will separate the stitch pattern into transfer and knit (or
transfer + knit) rows and, after downloading it to the knitting machine, knitting instructions can be followed
in Interactive Knitting. The instructions will include when each carriage is to be used and how it is to be set.
Errors are checked for and warnings will be given if necessary.
Silver Reed, Brother and Toyota have different characteristics that need to be taken into account and will
produce different (integrated) templates for their Punch card and electronic versions (See page 399).
All patterning knitting machines can produce Thread Lace. Where there are two colours in a row, Desig-
naKnit will recognise that area as Fair Isle, but if the grid cell also has the Thread Lace symbol, the program
will recognise that and give the appropriate instructions at the Interactive Knitting stage.

The Lace Tool does not support Passap knitting machines as they have their own specific way of
handling lace knitting. If required, the Passap manual should be consulted.

If the Lace tool has been used to create stitch patterns Interactive Knitting will react
to its Smart Symbols by providing the correct instructions to change between the
Lace and normal carriage or particular settings on them. The carriage in the "Piece
Overview" window will change colour accordingly. This has been illustrated in the
images on the left, which are of a Lace stitch pattern swatch.
The carriage shows as white where the normal carriage is used without any specific
settings.
For Brother knitting machines, the White carriage means that the normal carriage
is in use and yarn will be knitted when it is passed across the needle bed. Pink and
blue are reserved for the lace carriage. The Pink carriage indicates that the lace
carriage is set for normal Lace transfers, while the Blue carriage indicates it is set
for Fine Lace transfers.
For Silver Reed knitting machines, as soon as there are Smart Lace symbols in the
pattern, it is presumed that the lace carriage will be used and the carriage in the
"Piece Overview" window shows either Pink, which means the carriage is set for
'Transfer only' or Blue, which means that the carriage is set for 'Transfer + Knit'. On
the pattern rows where the carriage is pink, the RC will advance for each transfer
needed while the pattern row number stays the same. The rows where the carriage
shows as blue signify the 'Transfer + Knit' state, which advances both RC and
pattern row number.
Whenever the carriage or carriage settings needs to be changed, the "Countdown + Shaping Instructions"
window will display the relevant instructions.

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If 'Thread Lace' symbols, rather than Smart Lace symbols have been used to design a Lace stitch pattern,
it is presumed that the normal carriage is used and the carriage symbol will show white. Interactive Knitting
will inform that the carriage needs to be set to Thread Lace.

Silver Reed
Silver Reed can either use a dedicated lace carriage to produce Lace or its normal carriage can be used to
produce Thread lace (Fair Isle) patterns.
'Thread lace' is produced by using a normal and a very fine or nylon yarn in a Fair Isle construction, where
the invisibility of the very fine (or nylon) yarn gives the illusion holes and therefore lacy fabric at a distance.
Lace knitting produces eyelets by knitting two stitches together and leaving a hole where the previous stitch
was and is better suited to more complex patterns that involve multiple transfers in a row. The dedicated
lace carriage can be set to 'Transfer only' or 'Transfer + Knit', as required by the pattern. Instructions about
when each setting is needed are given in Interactive Knitting. When using the dedicated lace carriage,
Silver Reed knitting machines allow Fashion Lace and Simple Lace.
Fashion Lace - the lace sequence consists of transfers in either or both directions, which take place in
'Transfer only' passes of the carriage, until they are knitted on the last pass of the carriage with the carriage
set to 'Transfer + Knit'. With the Lace tool activated, the LMB is clicked, held and dragged in order to draw a
sequence of symbols, starting with a eyelet and ending with a decrease symbol. Any number of transfer
stitches can be in between these two symbols, and are represented by "/" or "\" symbols, depending on the
direction of the transfers.
Simple Lace - the lace sequence consists of a single stitch transferring to the adjacent needle, in the direc-
tion of the movement of the carriage. The row is knitted in the same pass. With the Lace tool activated, the
RMB is clicked, held and dragged in order to draw an eyelet and a decrease symbol next to each other.
Simple Lace transfers and knits in a single pass with the carriage set to 'Transfer + Knit' as long as there
are no multiple transfers in the same row, and all transfers are in the direction of the knitting carriage. There
can be as many of these two stitch sequences in a row as required, but they all need to be in the same
direction. If multiple transfers are required, the LMB should be used.

Do / Possible / Recommended Don't / Not possible / Not recommended

If transfers in the opposite direction to that in

When drawing lace patterns, transfers can be which the carriage travels are encountered in
on both odd and even rows, as long as the patterns where there are only single stitch trans-
eyelets on consecutive rows are not directly fers, there will be a warning before saving or
above one another. interactively knitting to the effect that this
sequence can only be knitted as Fashion Lace.
When designing lace patterns, bands of Fair
Isle or textured pattern may be used in the stitch Patterned knitting (Fair Isle or textured) cannot
pattern as long as there are no lace symbols on be combined with lace in the same pattern row.
the same row.

For further details, the Silver Reed machine manual should be consulted.

Brother
Brother knitting machines knit lace by using two carriages. While the lace carriage selects and transfers the
stitches for the lace pattern, the normal carriage does the actual knitting when all the transfers, whether
single or multiple, for a single row are completed. This procedure means that another technique can be

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 Lace (Complete)

used on the same row when designing the stitch pattern. The Interactive Knitting screen will indicate which
carriage to use and at what setting for each stage of the knitting process.
Normal Lace - is achieved with the lace carriage set at "N". With the Lace tool activated, the LMB is
clicked, held and dragged in order to draw a sequence of symbols, starting with a eyelet and ending with a
decrease symbol. Any number of transfer stitches can be in between these two 'end' symbols, and are
represented by "/" or "\" symbols, depending on the direction of the transfers. This method transfers
stitches to an empty adjacent needle. All transfers for a pair of rows must be completed with the lace
carriage before the rows are knitted with the normal knitting carriage.
Fine Lace - is achieved with the lace carriage set at "F". With the Lace tool activated, the RMB is clicked,
held and dragged in order to draw an eyelet and a decrease symbol next to each other. The RMB action
involves two stitches only and the starting stitch is stretched over two needles. If a fully transferred stitch is
wanted instead, the LMB can be used in a sequence of two stitches.

For Interactive Knitting, Brother knitting machines require an extra magnet arm to attach to the lace
carriage.

Do / Possible / Recommended Don't / Not possible / Not recommended

A lace transfer, whether Lace or Fine Lace, may

Lace and Fine Lace can both be used within a
not be drawn within a sequence of Lace trans-
single row.
fers.
Lace transfers may not use odd and even rows
Depending on the starting side of knitting, Lace within one pattern, or be on consecutive rows, to
transfer sequences may either be on odd or ensure that the docking positions of the
even rows. carriages are consistent and at opposite ends of
the needle bed.
Lace eyelets may not be on adjacent needles. If
Transfers can be in both directions within a
it is attempted the Lace tool will delete the first
single row.
eyelet in favour of the second.
Lace and Fine Lace eyelets may not be used on
Adjacent Fine Lace eyelets are allowed where adjacent needles. If it is attempted the Lace tool
the transfers go in opposite directions. will delete the first eyelet in favour of the
second.
Eyelets may not be drawn on successive rows.
Lace and Fair Isle colour patterns can be used
DesignaKnit 9 will give a warning before saving
within the same row, provided that the Fair Isle
or attempting to download or interactively knit a
knitting method has been selected.
pattern that contains this error.
Lace and textured stitch patterns are allowed
If the Fair Isle method has been selected, the
within the same row, provided that the
transfer stitches may be drawn in a contrasting
additional stitch type appears only on otherwise
colour. For Right / Wrong side facing texture
plain stitches between the lace sequences and
methods, while different smart symbols may be
does not interfere with the sequence of trans-
used between lace sequences, they may not be
fers between the eyelet and its matching
drawn within a sequence of transfers.
decrease.

For further details on lace techniques, the Brother knitting machine manual should be consulted.

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Toyota
Toyota knitting machines knit lace by using two carriages. While the lace carriage selects and transfers the
stitches for the lace pattern, the normal carriage does the actual knitting when all the transfers, whether
single or multiple, for a single row are completed. This procedure means that another technique can be
used on the same row when designing the stitch pattern. The Interactive Knitting screen will indicate which
carriage to use and at what setting for each stage of the knitting process.
Multiple transfers - are referred to when the lace sequence consists of more than two stitches. With the
Lace tool activated, the LMB is clicked, held and dragged in order to draw a sequence of symbols, starting
with an eyelet and ending with a decrease symbol. The intermediate transfer stitches are automatically
filled in by DesignaKnit and are represented by "/" or "\" symbols, depending on the direction of the trans-
fers.
Single transfers - are referred to when only two stitches are involved in the process. With the Lace tool
activated, the RMB is clicked, held and dragged in order to draw the eyelet and decrease symbol.

Toyota knitting machines require an extra magnet arm to attach to the lace carriage.

Do / Possible / Recommended Don't / Not possible / Not recommended

Lace eyelets are not allowed on adjacent

Transfers can be used in both directions within needles. If this combination is attempted, the
a single row. Lace tool will delete the first eyelet in favour of
the second.
Lace transfers may not use odd and even rows
Lace transfer sequences may either be on odd within one pattern, or be on consecutive rows, to
rows (for conventional systems where the lace ensure that the docking positions of the
carriage is at the left) or on even rows. carriages are consistent and at opposite ends of
the needle bed.
Eyelets may not be drawn on successive rows.
DesignaKnit 9 will give a warning before saving
or attempting to download or interactively knit a
pattern with this error

For further details of lace knitting, the Toyota machine manual should be consulted.

Punch cards and Reader sheets

Lace can be designed for knitting machines that require punch cards or Mylar and other reader sheets (See
on page 399) and the following considerations need to be taken into account:
1. A punch card or reader sheet can only deal with one carriage. Therefore, where two carriages are
used, only the lace carriage passes are taken into account in the template that DesignaKnit
produces. For Silver Reed machines, the template will include all passes of the carriage.
2. For non-electronic punch card knitting machines, the template is fed into the knitting machine. The
Interactive Knitting screen can only be updated where a single carriage is in use, as these machines
cannot recognise when a second carriage follows the first.
3. For the Silver Reed SK840 with its lace carriage attached, the Interactive Knitting screen will update
as each row is transferred and / or knitted.

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4. Brother and Toyota machines - provided that they each have a Knitlink Arm attached, DesignaKnit
detects the movement of both the Lace and main carriage during Interactive Knitting, causing the
screen to update as each row is transferred and / or knitted.
5. Brother electronic machines - lace transfers can take place in the same row as other types of
stitch pattern (such as Fair Isle or Tuck) because knitting lace on these machines involves the altern-
ating use of the Main and lace carriage.
6. The Silver Reed SK840 uses only one carriage for knitting lace, and that lace carriage cannot knit
other techniques. Therefore DesignaKnit does not allow lace to be in the same row as other
techniques when this machine is selected.
7. Silver Reed electronic and punch card machines - DesignaKnit includes plain rows as well as
lace carriage passes on the templates. After the pattern has been transferred from the template to a
reader sheet, Interactive Knitting can be done by using a ScreenLink. For Silver Reed electronic
machines, it is simpler to use a SilverLink 5 for Interactive Knitting.
8. Brother and Toyota punch card machines - DesignaKnit includes lace carriage passes and
excludes plain rows on the template for the punch card. This is because it is the lace carriage which
advances the pattern and not the normal carriage. Punch card machines do not respond when the
second carriage follows the first, unlike electronic knitting machines. Although the finished pattern
can be designed in Stitch Designer and integrated with a garment piece, Interactive Knitting is not
supported.
9. Brother KH950i - both lace carriage passes and plain rows are included on the templates for this
machine as it can recognise that a different carriage has passed the turn mark after which it moves
on to the next pattern row. After the pattern has been transferred from the template to a Mylar sheet,
Interactive Knitting can be done using a ScreenLink, with a Magnet arm attached to each carriage.
However, it is simpler to download the pattern and knit interactively using the USB BrotherLink 5.
For further details of lace knitting, the knitting machine manual should be consulted.

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Methods of Knitting
Hand Knit Options 340
Machine Knit Options 345
Stitch Pattern Methods 358

"Method of Knitting" refers to whether Hand or Machine knitting is used, as well as the way in which stitch
patterns and textures such as Fair Isle, Intarsia, Jacquard and Right / Wrong side facing texture methods
for machine knitting (See on page 358) or Stocking stitch, Reverse stocking, Garter(K), Garter(P) etc. for
hand knitting are worked into the design (See on page 340). The method that is chosen in Options / Method
of Knitting is displayed as an abbreviation (See page 430) in the Stitch Designer and Interactive Knitting
title bars and where applicable, [ Hand Knitting ] or the name of the currently selected knitting machine is
displayed in the Original Pattern Drafting title bar.
Different options will be presented depending on the product level purchased. In the 'Complete' product
level the method of knitting can be hand or machine knitting, while knitting machines are absent in the
'HandKnit' product level and 'Machine Standard' and 'Machine Pro' do not include hand knitting methods.
These differences have been taken account of in the manual as much as possible although some 'inapplic-
able' information cannot be avoided.
The method of knitting affects the printing of knitting instructions (including printing of Punch cards and
Mylar sheets), downloading to a knitting machine, and Interactive Knitting. A background stitch is chosen
for hand knitting to determine the expected and unexpected stitches.A specific knitting machine is selected
for machine knitting as well as which method is used to knit the garment piece or stitch pattern. It is a good
idea to decide on the intended method early on as changing it later will affect the work. It is also good
practice to check stitch patterns for errors in Stitch Designer before saving and using them in garment
pieces, to avoid possible compatibility issues.

The method of knitting, including whether a Colour Changer is in use, is a property of the stitch pattern.
Changing the method of knitting of a stitch pattern changes it for all the garment pieces in which it is
used! The choice of knitting machine and its settings are global settings that will be applied until expli-
citly changed.

The method of knitting can be changed in different sections of DesignaKnit:

○ Standard Garment Styling - changing the method is limited to choosing between hand and
machine knitting and selecting a different knitting machine. If stitch patterns have been integrated
with any of the garment pieces their settings will be applied when the instructions are printed, or at
the Interactive Knitting stage.

The dialogue shown on the right is presented

after accessing Options / Method of Knitting. If
"Hand knitting" is selected (as in this image) all
Shape-only garment pieces will be set for hand
knitting. If "Machine knitting" is selected, all
Shape-only pieces will be set for machine knitting.
The knitting machine that is chosen from the list
that appears next (See page 346) will be applied
to all pieces with a machine knitting method. After
selecting hand or machine knitting, the
workspace is returned to.

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○ Original Pattern Drafting - on selecting

Options / Method of Knitting, a check is
performed to see whether a stitch pattern
has been integrated with the active piece. If
it has not, the message shown on the right will appear and one can be chosen from the Thumbnails
view (See page 433) after clicking "Yes". Hand knit (See page 340) or Machine knit (See page 347)
options will then be presented as applicable, depending on the method of the selected stitch pattern.

If the piece is to be knitted in one colour without a

stitch pattern "No" needs to be clicked after which
the "Shape Only options" dialogue is presented.
A shape file can contain pieces with and without
integrated stitch patterns.
Either Machine or Hand knitting can be selected
by clicking on the appropriate button (machine
knitting in this example), as well as the starting
side and whether the knitting is "Wrong side
facing". If the method is hand knitting, "Row 1 is
wrong side" will appear instead of "Wrong side
facing".
Clicking "OK" presents a list of knitting machines
if appropriate (See page 346) or returns to the main workspace. The options chosen will be
remembered.

Shape-only settings are remembered for all Shape-only pieces in DesignaKnit, so if they are
changed, they will stay this way until they are changed again.

Although each (garment) piece in a shape file can

have a different method of knitting, any changes that
are made to the method of an active piece with an
integrated stitch pattern will be applied to all instances
of that stitch pattern, in whichever shape files it may
appear, throughout DesignaKnit. If the method is
incompatible with the pattern content or not the best
option, an error message such as shown here will appear. The previous method will be retained
unless the pattern would fit even with the less than optimum choice, in which case the new method
will be selected (See also Jacquard on page 361). The "See Check / Row colours in Stitch Designer"
line will only appear if there are more colours in the pattern than allowed for in the selected method.
○ Stitch Designer - changes are made to the current stitch pattern on saving. All instances of that
stitch pattern in all shape files where it occurs will be affected. If the same stitch pattern is to be used
with different methods for different shape files or garment pieces, it is best to save each one separ-
ately and reflect the intended method in the file name so it can easily be identified and applied
correctly. If a method is incompatible with the number of yarns in the pattern, a warning will be given
but the stitch pattern can be saved anyway as Stitch Designer allows a great degree of flexibility. If
this change is not intended, the Undo button on the Left Toolbar, "Ctrl-Z" or Edit / Undo can be used
to undo it. It is always a good idea to use the Check menu option or click the Check button at the right
hand side on the Top Toolbar in Stitch Designer to find out whether there are errors in the pattern.
○ Interactive Knitting - changes to the method of knitting will be applied immediately and saved to the
current stitch pattern without further prompting. If the knit method is changed when knitting a swatch

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or an integrated piece to one that does not match the number of colours per row or the total number
of colours in the pattern, a message is given and the previous knit method is retained.

Hand Knit Options

Knit Method 340
Start of knitting 340
Background stitch types 342

There are several options that can be set for

hand knitting. If the product level is Complete,
the Machine knitting button is present (see red
circle) and Machine knitting can be switched to
instead of HandKnit, by clicking the symbol.
The "Hand Knit Options" dialogue can be
accessed through Options / Method of Knitting
in Original Pattern Drafting, Stitch Designer and
Interactive Knitting.

Knit Method
Flat - indicates knitting on two needles.
Circular - means that the knitting is all around and seamless. This can be achieved by knitting with a
circular needle or by using three or more needles that are double pointed to continuously knit in one direc-
tion. Although these choices do not affect the design process or a chart, they affect printed text instructions
as DesignaKnit will instruct to read rows in alternate directions for flat knitting, or always in the same direc-
tion, for circular knitting.
Which hand knit method is used in the current design can be seen in the DesignaKnit title bar by the letters
which follow the file name. E.g., "Hk" (Hand knitting stocking stitch), "Hk O", (Hand knitting stocking stitch,
Circular), "Hp" (Reverse stocking stitch), "Hgk" (Garter stitch, K), "Hgp" (Garter stitch, P). "O" is added if
Circular knitting has been selected.

Start of knitting
The settings in this section determine the knit direction and whether the knitting starts on the right or wrong
(reverse) side of the work and affect printed and Interactive Knitting instructions. Which options are to be
ticked depends on whether the stitch pattern is to be worked on the right or reverse side of the fabric and
whether the chart (in Interactive Knitting) is to be read from left to right or vice versa
Elements in a stitch pattern may need to be repositioned due to a change in these two options, such as
where stitch cables are used. More information about this can be found in the Stitch Designer "Stitch

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Cables" chapter. Stitch Designer shuffles the stitch pattern itself, while Original Pattern Drafting and the
Shapes / Integrate option in Stitch Designer will adjust its vertical integration with a garment piece, as the
former deals with (unintegrated) stitch patterns and the latter with shapes to which stitch patterns have
been integrated.
Knitting starts at left edge of row 1 on chart - affects the stitch outline of garment pieces because it
controls the starting side and thereby the knit direction at each row. Changing this setting affects the place-
ment of double row steps, which changes the stitch outline for gentle slopes such as shoulders. It may also
affect the vertical integration of stitch cable patterns, which has been explained in the Stitch Designer
manual in the Stitch Cables chapter. How the garment piece is affected can be seen by accessing the
Shaping as X’s, Garment Picture, Garment Symbols, Garment Text and Garment Notation previews in the
Print menu and in the Piece Overview progress window in Interactive Knitting, as well as by viewing the
piece outline in Original Pattern Drafting and Stitch Designer.

"Knitting starts at left edge of row 1 on chart" means that the chart is read from the right (unticked) or the left
(ticked), as can be seen in the images above where row 5 of a stitch pattern is highlighted. The colours of
the each arrow in the stitch pattern image correspond with the outline colours of Pattern text instructions
and Interactive Knitting Piece Overview that are shown to its right.
In general, this option should be ticked if the knit method is Flat, row 1 is a wrong side (reverse) row and
knitting is from the left needle to the right as in conventional knitting. "Row 1 is wrong side" should then also
be ticked to confirm that this is a wrong side row. With both these options ticked, all right side rows are read
from right to left as they are viewed on the chart and wrong side rows from left to right.
The significance of starting at one side or the other is that it controls the fine detail of the edge shaping (or
stitch layout) throughout the piece wherever there are gentle slopes (more horizontal than vertical) such as
for shoulders. More detailed information can be found in the 'Shaping' section of the Original Pattern
Drafting manual. Gentle slopes create double row steps because of the rules about only doing shaping on
a certain side of the piece. This applies to hand knitting as well as machine knitting.
A left or right side start can be assigned in Options / Method of Knitting in Original Pattern Drafting, Stitch
Designer and Interactive Knitting. The changes that are made apply to row 1 of the unintegrated stitch
pattern, which may be different to row 1 of a garment piece with which the stitch pattern is integrated.
Changes that are made in Interactive Knitting are immediate and will be saved with the stitch pattern
without prompting.
If the knit direction is changed by changing the Knit Direction Indicator (information about this can be found
in the Original Pattern Drafting manual), or the "R" and "L" buttons in the integrate dialogue in Original
Pattern Drafting or Stitch Designer (See on page 440), the changes will apply to the current DesignaKnit
session and the stitch pattern itself is not affected.
Row 1 is wrong side - is only available to be ticked when the method is Flat as there is no distinction
between odd and even rows in Circular knitting.

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Changing "Row 1 is
wrong side" does
not affect the
finished knitted
result or the knit
direction. However,
starting on the right
or wrong (reverse)
side of knitting has
an effect on the
knitting instructions.
Where there are Knit
stitches on row one if the right side is viewed and knitted, these have to be Purl when the knitting is turned
over to be viewed and knitted from the wrong (reverse) side. This is shown in the images on the left. The
stitch pattern itself does not change, but the "Pattern text" instructions for printout in Stitch Designer(shown
here) and Interactive Knitting instructions do.

Decreasing at the start of rows is easier when using Knit stitches rather than Purl. When following a
printed chart it is important to know at which end the first row is started. Starting at the other end will
change all the shaping instructions for any gentle slopes.

Background stitch types

The background stitch type provides a knitting background with expected and unexpected stitches.
According to the selected background stitch type, DesignaKnit presents a starting background in the
correct stitch in Fabric view. In Grid view, the background will be blank, whichever method is chosen as the
blank cells represent the 'expected' stitch. As the background stitch type determines the expected and
unexpected stitches, it will affect the knitting instructions and abbreviations.
On the finished side of the fabric, a stocking stitch garment piece will show only Knit stitches, while the
physical knitting is done by knitting one row, purling the next. The expected stitch (which appears on the
physical finished side and in Grid view) is Knit.
A garment piece that is produced by using the garter stitch will show all blank rows in Grid view, alternate
Knit and Purl stitch rows in fabric view, while the physical knitting is done by knitting (or purling) all rows.
The expected stitches are alternating Knit and Purl rows, which will show as blank Grid cells. In the case of
Garter (K) the first row will be Knit and in the case of Garter (P) the first row will be Purl.

The image above depicts the basic background stitch where no unexpected stitches are used. For all four
methods, Grid view shows only blank grid cells. The result in Fabric view is different for each method.

As soon as even one unexpected stitch is placed, changing the method of knitting will
change the Grid view to reflect the swapped over expected and unexpected stitches, while
the Fabric view will stay unaltered.

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Expected and unexpected stitches influence errors that may be shown in Knit direc-
tion. They also present a different 'Grid' view and affect the knitting instructions and abbreviations. All four
background stitch types have been described below with images. To achieve the same finished fabric
result, the expected (blank) and unexpected (dotted) stitches in the Grid were changed, depending on each
method.

Placing an unexpected stitch on a Stocking stitch background means a Knit stitch is changed to Purl.
Placing an unexpected stitch on a Reverse stocking background changes a Purl stitch to Knit. On a
Garter stitch method, a Knit stitch on a Knit row will change to a Purl stitch, while a Purl stitch on a Purl
row will change to Knit.

Stocking stitch background

Flat Stocking stitch is produced by knitting one

row, purling the next. Circular Stocking stitch is
produced by knitting in the round, using only
Knit stitches. The smooth or Knit side of the
fabric is on the finished side of the fabric. The
stocking stitch method uses the Knit stitch as
the expected stitch, which carries no symbol in
Grid view. If there were no textured patterning,
there would be no unexpected stitches and the grid would be blank (see image above).
In the Grid image shown here the unexpected Purl stitches form the texture pattern that is shown in fabric
view. The unexpectedness is shown in the Purl icon as there is a little circle underneath it.
With Circular knitting, the Grid view will be the same, as every expected stitch would be Knit. The knitting
instructions in printouts and Interactive Knitting would mention only Knit rows, whereas for Flat knitting, Knit
and Purl rows would alternate to result in the Knit stitch on one side of the fabric.

Reverse stocking background

Reverse stocking (Flat and Circular) is essen-

tially the same as stocking stitch, except that
the Purl side is on the finished side. Flat
Reverse stocking is produced by purling one
row, knitting the next. If the box for "Row 1 is
wrong side" is ticked, the first row would be Knit
instead of Purl. Circular Reverse stocking is
produced by knitting in the round, using only
Purl stitches.
Purl is the expected stitch (blank grid cells) on the finished side of the fabric and Knit is the unexpected
stitch represented by dotted cells, as can be seen in the Grid image and the Knit icon shown here. The
image is the reverse of the Grid image of the Stocking stitch method.
For most patterns which are based on a Purl background, the stocking stitch method works well, but where
the Purl stitches significantly outnumber the Knit stitches, the Reverse stocking background may be
considered to result in a Grid view that is more easily read.
With Circular knitting, the Grid view will be the same as every expected stitch would be Purl. The knitting
instructions in printout and Interactive Knitting would mention only Purl rows, whereas for Flat knitting, Purl
and Knit rows would alternate to result in the Purl stitch on one side of the fabric.

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Garter stitch (K) background

Flat Garter stitch (K) is produced by knitting

every row, resulting in a ribbed effect of the
finished fabric. Circular Garter stitch is
produced by knitting one 'row' and purling the
next to achieve the ribbed effect. The beginning
of a row would need to be marked to know
when to switch from Knit to Purl.
Although Knit and Purl rows are used altern-
ately and equally, as the first row of finished fabric is Knit in Garter stitch (K), as can be seen in the image
above (See page 342), the Knit icon has no marking and Purl has the unexpected symbol. However, when
drawing in the pattern, using the stitch symbol that carries the "." results in a Knit stitch being changed into
Purl and vice versa. This can be seen in the image where the first row consists of expected Knit stitches.
The expected stitches on the second row are Purl. The Knit stitches at either side are achieved by using the
Pencil tool and selecting the unexpected stitch symbol. Although, looking at the icon, this would seem to be
Purl, a Knit stitch is achieved. On the third row, where the background stitch is Knit, selecting the
unexpected Purl symbol results in actual Purl stitches.

It is important to realise that the unexpected stitch is drawn when choosing the stitch
symbol that has the dot below it, regardless of whether it is Knit or Purl.

Although the Stocking stitch method could be used with every second row drawn in the unexpected stitch,
the pattern could become very 'busy' with symbols. Using the Garter stitch background, Grid and Chart
cells are blank for Knit stitches on a Knit row and Purl stitches on a Purl row. They are dotted for Knit
stitches on a Purl row and Purl stitches on a Knit row.

The Garter stitch method is most useful for Flat knitted lace. In order not to overcomplicate or obscure
the lace pattern by having a line of dots on every other row, the Garter stitch method can be used which
then presents a clean background onto which the lace stitches can be placed.

Garter stitch (P) background

Garter stitch (P) is essentially the same as

Garter stitch (K), but is provided for knitters who
prefer using the Purl stitch. Flat Garter stitch (P)
is produced by using only Purl stitches on every
row, resulting in a ribbed effect of the finished
fabric. Circular Garter stitch is produced by
purling one row and knitting the next. The begin-
ning of a 'row' would need to be marked in order
to know when to switch between Purl and Knit.
The Purl icon has no marking as it is the expected stitch, while the Knit icon carries the unexpected symbol.
The Garter stitch (P) stitch pattern shown here is the same as for Garter stitch (K) in fabric view, although
the Grid view is the reverse because the expected and unexpected stitches are opposite in each method.
Garter stitch (K) can be looked at for more in depth explanation.

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Unless there is a specific reason not to choose it, selecting the Stocking Stitch (Flat or
Circular) is recommended as it is the most basic method and conforms to most published
charts and patterns.

When a pattern chart is printed (See on page 389) the

expected type of stitches is printed as blank cells and
the unexpected type as dots. When Stocking Stitch is
chosen as the background stitch this means that knit
stitches on a knit row will be represented by blank
cells, while purl stitches on a knit row will be repres-
ented by dots.
In these two images the effect can be seen clearly. The
stitch pattern was designed with purl stitches in knit
rows and for purposes of demonstrating a small piece
was created with this stitch pattern. The first image shows the effect of selecting the Stocking stitch
background and the second the Reverse Stocking stitch. These settings may need to be played with to
arrive at the desired effect where the main body of stitches is represented by blanks and the other type by
dots.

The setting that was chosen as a Hand Knit method can still affect the looks of the symbols printout
when Machine Knit has subsequently been selected.

Once the options have been configured and "OK" is clicked, the program returns to the main workspace.

Machine Knit Options

Knitting machine setup 349
Advanced 350
Copy, Delete machine 351
Jacquard 352
Templates 357
Default technique 358

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If Options / Method of Knitting or

Options / Knitting Machine is
accessed from Standard
Garment Styling, for a Shape-
only piece in Original Pattern
Drafting or from the Yarn
Numbers & Feeders dialogue in
Stitch Designer, the "Knitting
Machine Selection" dialogue as
shown on the left is presented,
otherwise the "Machine Knit
Options" dialogue will be
displayed (See page 347). The
required knitting machine can
be selected and setup with the
correct cable link if one is used
(See page 349), in order to
communicate with it at the Inter-
active Knitting stage.
The list provides information about each knitting machine, such as the number of needles it contains and, if
punch cards, Mylar or other reader sheets can be used with it, their sizes (See page 347).
The ruler bar to the right of the list (see red arrow) can be moved by clicking, holding and dragging the
mouse to display and select different machines. Alternatively the first letter of the machine can be typed to
jump to the desired make, after which the cursor can be moved up and down to select the correct model.
When "OK" is clicked the program returns to the workspace and the selected machine will be saved and
used in DesignaKnit until it is changed.
If necessary, the knitting machine setup button (see red oval above) can be clicked to access options such
as setting up the cable link, specifying the starting direction, the number of tension wires (See page 349).

Editable "All Makes" machines

are provided which are
identical to each other except
for the number of needles.
They can be used as simple
alternatives or when a certain
knitting machine cannot be found in the list.
Theses machines can be used as they are or their name and number of needles can be edited in the
Advanced (See page 350) section of the setup after which they are saved. On downloading a program
update an edited machine is recognised by DesignaKnit and will not be overwritten. If "All Makes"
machines are deleted, they will be reinstated on the next program update.
The number of needles of an "All Makes" knitting machine is incorporated in its abbreviated name in the
title bar of DesignaKnit, e.g., [ Plain Knitter 100 ], in Stitch Designer, Interactive Knitting and Original
Pattern Drafting whenever this is relevant.

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Punch card - The information to

the right of each machine shows
the total number of needles as
well as the size of a punch card
or Mylar sheet that is suitable for
that machine.
If there are no "n x n" values
after the number of needles, the knitting machine is not suitable for punch cards and the (Stitch pat and
Integrated) template options of Stitch Designer are not available.
The image above shows part of the "Machine Knit Options" dialogue. In this example, the Silver Reed F270
and F370 have 250 needles and the stitch pattern size that can be used with an Integrated template (See
page 390) has to be 30 stitches wide, or a multiple thereof (See also Rules for stitch pattern templates on
page 391).
If a different size of punch card is needed, the number of stitches and rows for a template can be altered for
one of the "All Makes" machines (See on page 357), or an existing knitting machine may be copied (See on
page 351) after which the number of stitches and rows for a template can be changed.

When viewing this

manual on the
computer, the
cursor may be
hovered over the
image. Where the
cursor changes to
a hand it can be
clicked on as a
quick way of
getting to the
relevant section.

If an integrated stitch
pattern is involved and Options / Method of Knitting is accessed, the "Machine Knit Options" dialogue as
shown here is presented to allow selection of the stitch pattern knitting method and the knitting machine.
Changing the stitch pattern method and whether a Colour Changer is used will change it for all instances of
that stitch pattern, while changing the knitting machine and its setup will change it for the DesignaKnit
session, independent of the stitch pattern. The dialogue presents the options that are chosen for the
current stitch pattern (see red oval). If the stitch pattern is located in a folder that is different from the default
location, its path will also be shown.
The method of knitting (See page 358) can be selected from the first drop down menu (see blue circle). The
Colour Changer state (See page 490) can be changed by clicking its button (see blue arrow). The appro-
priate knitting machine can be chosen from the second drop down menu (see red circle) and the knitting
machine Setup (See page 349) can be accessed if necessary (see red arrow). The Hand Knitting button
(see light blue circle) can be clicked to switch to hand knitting.

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Passap - the "Machine Knit

Options" screen is slightly
different for the Passap E6000
and E8000 knitting machines,
as a Passap technique
number field is added to the
dialogue (see red arrow). A
different technique can be
stipulated for each stitch
pattern, if required, by entering
a different number in the box.
This field will contain the
default technique number for the currently chosen knitting machine (See page 358) unless the pattern has
been saved with a valid number previously. In this example, the Passap E6000 (32K) has been selected.
Once the options in this dialogue have been accepted by clicking "OK", the title bar of the DesignaKnit
screen will reflect this by adding it to the knitting machine information in the following format:

The technique number can be changed by clicking in

the field, which will open a dialogue in which the number
can be changed by entering directly or using the up and
down little triangles.

If the number is not compatible with the selected knitting machine or

method of the stitch pattern, one of the error messages shown on
the right will be displayed on clicking "OK" and it will not be accepted.
Clicking "Cancel" will lose the information and will default to the
previous compatible number.

Sometimes, a specific message such as the

one shown on the right will be given to suggest
a different method of knitting to match the
selected technique number.

If the entry is valid, a box will appear with details of the chosen method
(as shown on the right) and clicking "OK" will apply the technique to
the currently open pattern. On saving, the Passap technique number
is saved with he stitch pattern in the same way that Jacquard or Right /
Wrong side facing texture methods are saved with it (See also
Technique numbers on page 481).
As the stitch technique is a property of the stitch pattern, it can be changed for each stitch pattern in the
separate stitch pattern field box that appears for Passap machines in the "Machine Knit Options" dialogue
(See page 348).
DesignaKnit caters for a variety of knitting machines that can be physically linked to the computer by a
cable. The cable link enables Interactive Knitting as well as downloading and uploading stitch patterns from
the Stitch Designer part of the program to certain knitting machines (See on page 472). This ensures that
patterns are applied to the finished garment exactly as they were designed. More information about cable

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links can be found on the Soft Byte Ltd website (https://www.softbyte.co.uk/cablelinks.htm) from where
they can also be ordered.
DesignaKnit provides knitting instructions for all domestic knitting machines available in the United
Kingdom at the time of writing. For older models one of the existing options can generally be chosen and
configured to suit.

Knitting machine setup

The selected knitting machine needs to be set up when it is used for the first time. It needs to be connected
and switched on with the cable link in place. Clicking the Setup button (see red arrow in the image above)
will present the following dialogue from which a variety of options can be specified.

When viewing this manual on

the computer, the cursor may
be hovered over the image.
Where the cursor changes to a
hand it can be clicked on as a
quick way of getting to the
relevant section.

Cable link - the correct cable link

needs to be chosen, after which
the USB or serial port number
can be changed if necessary.
Alternatively, clicking on "Find
Link" (See page 499) will find the
correct port that the knitting
machine is attached to, provided
it is attached and switched on.
"Refresh Firmware" can be
clicked on to ensure the link is up
to date.
Soft Byte Ltd (https://www.soft-
byte.co.uk/usingfindlink.htm) can be visited if there is a problem with finding or configuring the correct link.
More information can be found in Cable Links Information (See page 497).

Some of the options on this screen (see red rectangle) are either not available or not applicable to
Standard Garment Styling. However, if a knitting machine is selected in Standard Garment Styling, it is
useful to make the correct selections to prepare for converting to Original Pattern Drafting and / or Inter-
active Knitting.

New stitch patterns use Colour Changer - if this box is ticked, the Colour Changer will be in use for
stitch patterns that are newly created with this particular knitting machine. Different knitting machines can
have this option set differently. This does not affect the currently open stitch pattern, for which the Colour
Changer state can be changed in the "Machine Knit Options" dialogue (See page 347).
Start swatch with CAL (if changer not used) - is only relevant for knitting swatches and ticking this
option will force knitting to start from the left side of the needle bed. If left unticked the starting position will
be determined by the default settings of the selected knitting machine. Garment pieces have their own
CAL/CAR setting which can be altered in File / Integrate or by using the Knit Direction Indicator (See
Original Pattern Drafting manual).

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The significance of starting at one side or the other is that it controls the fine detail of the edge shaping
(stitch layout) throughout the piece wherever there are gentle (more horizontal than vertical) slopes such
as for shoulders. This applies to hand knitting as well as machine knitting.
For knitting machines that preselect the needles this option refers to the first knitted row and not the first
preselected row. A comment to this effect is displayed when this applies.

There is a convention that the Silver Reed carriage starts at the right hand side. With Brother it is not so
easy because of the preselection. Each movement of the carriage brings out a (possibly different) selec-
tion of needles to create the pattern for the following row.

More than 4 tension wires available for Fair Isle - applies to Japanese machines only (Silver Reed,
Brother and Toyota) and affects the number of columns used in the Stitch Designer Yarn Numbers &
Feeders display as well as the number of yarns displayed in the "Yarns" progress window in Interactive
Knitting for Fair Isle patterns that contain more than 4 colours in total. If there are 4 tension wires available,
one of these is used for the main yarn which is fed through the front feeder B or 2, leaving the other three to
be threaded through a Colour Changer to be fed to the rear feeder A or 1 (See page 493). "More than 4
tension wires" can be ticked for Fair Isle knitting if the Colour Changer is switched ON and there is an extra
tension mast attached to the machine. The extra tension mast allows the main yarn to be threaded separ-
ately via the front feeder, freeing all four Colour Changer holders for the contrast yarns.
End needle selection used for Fair Isle - if the selected knitting machine automatically selects end
needles to upper working position, ticking this box informs the program not to remove contrast yarns when
plain rows are knitted between two patterned sections. However, if yarn is not removed it will create a float
across the entire width of the pattern.
Use Automatic Motor control - is available only where an automatic motor link is used.

Advanced

The information in
this section includes technical
details about the knitting machine's
memory, the program's interface
method, number of needles,
maximum number of colours in a
row for Jacquard knitting, pre-selec-
tion type, carriage passes calcu-
lation method and Colour Changer
type. For machines on the default
list, this information is for reference
only and is greyed out so it cannot
be changed.
For "All Makes" machines (See
page 346) and those that have been
copied in order to customise, the
name of the machine, maximum
number of stitches (needles on the
machine bed) and maximum
number of colours per row for
Jacquard can be adjusted (See page 351).

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"Use slow downloads" - is an option that is only used by the programmer in certain circumstances where
a cable link is not working properly and should be ignored.

Copy, Delete machine

If identical knitting machines are used in different projects that are to be worked simultaneously, different
names need to be used. For example, if two garment pieces are to be worked on in parallel on two identical
Brother KH965 knitting machines, these machines need to have different names for DesignaKnit to be able
to distinguish between the projects and so retain the correct information with regards to the progress of
knitting. If two different machines are used (even if these are a KH965 and KH965i) this is not necessary.
This scenario could be dealt with by using the "Copy Machine" option that is described below, or by
amending one of the "All Makes" knitting machines (See page 346).

creates a copy of a selected machines so that custom settings can be applied. For
example if a specific machine is not listed or if a different way of separating Jacquard patterns is needed for
an otherwise identical knitting machine, the machine that most resembles the required one can be selected
and copied.

Copying and amending a knitting

machine avoids error messages
which DesignaKnit might otherwise
display, such as if the number of
needles for a specific machine is
exceeded. Clicking the "Copy
Machine" button presents the inform-
ation window shown on the right and
after "OK" has been clicked, the new
machine is added to the list with a (1)
added after its name.
Every time "Copy machine" is clicked, a new copy of the selected machine will be added to the list and its
number will be incremented, as can be seen in the example where the same Silver Reed machine was
copied twice; (1) and (2) were added.

Details such as the name can be changed

by clicking "Setup" in the "Machine Knit
Options" dialogue, then "Advanced", which
displays the dialogue on the left in which
name of the machine, maximum stitches
(needles of the needle bed) and colours
per row for Jacquard can be specified.
Once "OK" is clicked, the resulting 'new'
machine will be displayed in the list.

"Copy Machine" is available in the

Machine Pro and Complete product
levels of DesignaKnit.

"All Makes" knitting machines have been

supplied with different numbers of needles
to make it easier to find a machine that fits
requirements without copying. They can be
used as they are or customised by clicking

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 Methods of Knitting (Complete)

"Setup", "Advanced" and "Templates" to change the name, number of needles and size of a Mylar or
reader sheet as required.

is greyed out unless a machine has been copied previously. Only machines that
were previously copied, or any of the "All makes" knitting machines can be removed in this way. To
safeguard against accidental deletion, knitting machines in the list that has been supplied with the program
are read only. If the currently selected knitting machine is deleted, DesignaKnit will switch to an "All Makes"
machine.

Jacquard

Method A 354
Method B 354
Method C 355
Method D 355
Method E 356
Method F 356

Jacquard refers to patterns

in which some or all rows have two or more
colours and each colour is worked separ-
ately. DesignaKnit will select only the
needles to be knitted in any given colour,
and the carriage (or lock, in case of Passap
machines) will be set to slip past the
unselected needles. This can result in
fabric that can be used on both sides as the
yarn is 'woven in' rather than looped around
the back and floated, as is the case with
Fair Isle knitting.
Jacquard setup can be accessed through
Options / Method of Knitting or Options /
Knitting Machine (depending on the
product level), clicking "Setup" in the
"Machine Knit Options" dialogue, followed
by clicking on "Jacquard". The current settings, including the current knitting machine will be displayed.

All patterns with more than two colours in a row (except for Intarsia and hand knitted patterns), whether
they will be separated by DesignaKnit or by the knitting machine, must have a Jacquard method alloc-
ated.

All Jacquard methods (See page 354) require the colours to be knitted one at a time, so that, depending on
the number of colours in a row, several passes of the carriage are required to complete one actual row of
finished fabric. To facilitate colour changing, most Jacquard patterns are constructed in pairs of instructions
to create each row of knitting with multiple passes of the carriage, unlike Fair Isle which uses two colours
per row that are worked simultaneously in a single pass of the carriage.
In Stitch Designer and Interactive Knitting a knitted row is represented by grid rows. Depending on the
colour separation method it may take several passes of the carriage to knit one row of finished fabric. A row
is measured on the front (outer surface) of the fabric as something that is one stitch high. Jacquard

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Methods of Knitting (Complete)

methods of knitting involve more passes of the carriage to knit one row. For example, a 3 colour Jacquard
stitch pattern needs 6 passes of the carriage to produce one row of the pattern, because the carriage
needs to have two passes per colour and each colour is knitted separately. Each new yarn is selected from
the Colour Changer and is knitted for two passes of the carriage, which are also two consecutive row
numbers. The more colours are involved, the thicker the fabric will be.
The 'lines' in the image above match lines on a punch card or template reader and refer to an area of
memory when the pattern is downloaded. The different methods refer to the way punch cards or reader
templates are 'read' by the knitting machine and translated into actions.
The "Knitted Result" at the top of the screen shows what is to be achieved, while the options A to F denote
the different ways in which colour changing is handled. The method is shown for three colours and each
method shows the number of carriage passes and sequence of the yarns. The same principles apply for
any number of colours up to a maximum of six.

Jacquard patterns are knitted in pairs of rows, where row means row of finished fabric. The first row of
each pair is always an odd row number in the piece and the second is even numbered. The colours are
selected one by one from the Colour Changer, and each yarn colour is worked for 2 passes of the
carriage. Jacquard stitch patterns must have an even number of rows to separate colours correctly.

For Japanese machines, the colour sequence is very important and needs to be correctly chosen for the
patterns involved. For example, stitches of the last yarn in the sequence must not lie vertically below any
stitches of the first yarn as it would be impossible to knit correctly, resulting in distorted stitches at the
edges of each group of stitches of each colour.
For Passap machines, which knit a complete pair of fabric rows for each row on the DesignaKnit screen,
the issue of Jacquard errors does not apply when using Passap’s own technique numbers. These
techniques have the advantage that Jacquard errors are not possible, although there is loss of vertical
resolution and patterns cannot be as finely detailed as on a Japanese machine. Jacquard patterns that are
created for the Passap E6000, and which use the DesignaKnit custom technique numbers 902 - 904 (See
page 483), enable greater resolution but can also have Jacquard errors, therefore it necessary to check for
those using the Stitch Designer Check option.
Jacquard errors can be detected by using the Jacquard option in the Stitch Designer Check dialogue. If
they are found, and changing the sequence of yarns is able to reduce the errors, the option will be given to
do this automatically. However, it may not be possible to remove all the errors in this way, in which case an
option will appear to alter the pattern automatically to remove the remaining errors. In certain cases it may
be preferable to decline that option, in which case DesignaKnit will mark the errors in the pattern with short
vertical lines in a contrasting colour. Any necessary adjustments can then be made by using the Stitch
Designer Pencil tool, which deletes the vertical error markings as they are corrected.
The "Machine Knit Options" dialogue offers the Jacquard option to select the way in which yarn numbers
are used. Method B is the default method and the sequence of how yarns are knitted can be seen in the
'Method B' section below it. This method results in the fewest number of Jacquard errors. The actual yarn
sequence for the pattern can be seen and changed by turning on the View / Yarn Numbers & Feeders
menu option in Stitch Designer, which has been described in the Stitch Designer manual.
Some of the yarn separation methods are more suitable than others for particular knitting machines.
General considerations are listed here:
○ Methods A and B are both used on Japanese machines where each yarn colour is worked in turn for
two passes of the carriage.
○ Method A is intended for single bed Jacquard where each pair of rows is identical. Single bed
Jacquard requires any yarns that are not used in a row to be suppressed and the carriage set to Slip.

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 Methods of Knitting (Complete)

○ Method B is intended for double bed Jacquard. Depending on the pattern, suppression is usually
unsuitable for double bed Jacquard because the tension and fabric are uneven and there are vertical
floats at the edges of the work where the suppressed yarn is carried up to the next row where it is
used.
○ Method B is also used to convert Fair Isle patterns to Jacquard using the switch on the knitting
machine console. If DesignaKnit downloaded a Fair Isle stitch pattern, the 'Jacquard' switch on the
knitting machine may be used to convert it to a 2 colour Jacquard pattern. If the DesignaKnit pattern
is already Jacquard, the separation of rows is taken care of before downloading the pattern to the
knitting machine and the 'Jacquard' switch should not be used.
○ Method C is used with Japanese knitting machines and requires use of the double height button to
double the downloaded pattern rows.
○ Methods D, E and F are specialist separation methods and are used only in specific circumstances.
○ Passap - Choosing a separation method has no effect on the downloaded pattern for the Passap
E6000 and E8000 machines because the Jacquard colour separation is handled by the technique
numbers of the machine instead (See on page 481). Technique numbers can be entered in Desig-
naKnit to identify and apply colour separation in accordance with the technique used on the knitting
machine.
○ Passap - Jacquard colour separation is only applicable when printing reader templates for the
Passap E6000 and Duomatic machines that can then be used to create punch cards. Method C is
used by Passap Duomatic (punch card) machines with the Deco set to 2 and Method D is used for
Passap E6000 machines where the pattern is over 40 stitches wide.
○ Silver Reed - The PE1 can accept Jacquard colour patterns with a maximum of 5 colours per row.
Method D separates each colour onto a separate reader card and is used to download patterns to
the PE1 Design Controller unit. The PE1 can then use that pattern with any of the Silver Reed
electronic machines.
○ If the knitting machine preselects the needles, the preselect row or rows must first be worked and the
carriage placed in position ready to knit the first pass of the pattern. The preselect process will select
needles on the main bed. The first pass of each yarn knits the selected needles on the main bed and
all working needles on the Ribber. Preselect machines do not select needles on the main bed for the
next pass. The second (return) pass will knit all working needles on the Ribber but will not knit at all
on the main bed. Preselect machines will select the needles for the first pass of the next colour.
What happens on each pass of the carriage in each method is described below.

Method A
works in pairs of rows, so that there are two passes for each colour. If the pattern does not consist of
identical pairs of rows, there are likely to be Jacquard yarn sequence errors. Method A may be used for
Brother, Silver Reed and Toyota (Japanese machines).
l Pass 1 = colour 1, Row 1
l Pass 2 = colour 1, Row 2
l Pass 3 = colour 2, Row 1
l Pass 4 = colour 2, Row 2
l Pass 5 = colour 3, Row 1
l Pass 6 = colour 3, Row 2

Method B

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works by separating the rows in pairs. The main colour is the first and last in the sequence, with other
colours knitted in pairs of passes sandwiched between them. Where a pattern does not consist of identical
row pairs, this method generally produces fewer separation errors than method A. This works for Brother,
Silver Reed and Toyota (Japanese machines).
This method creates no errors for 2-colour Jacquard and is the same method that is used by some
Japanese machines to convert Fair Isle patterns to Jacquard by using the switch on the console. This
switch should only be used if a DesignaKnit pattern is downloaded as Fair Isle but needs to be knitted as
Jacquard. DesignaKnit Jacquard patterns perform the separation on downloading, so the switch should not
be used.
If additional colours are used they will follow in paired sequence between the single passes of the first
colour. When three or more colours are used errors can occur. The Check menu option in Stitch Designer
can be used to identify and correct them.
l Pass 1 = colour 1, Row 1
l Pass 2 = colour 2, Row 1
l Pass 3 = colour 2, Row 2
l Pass 4 = colour 3, Row 1
l Pass 5 = colour 3, Row 2
l Pass 6 = colour 1, Row 2

Method C
separates each colour from a single row shown in the DesignaKnit pattern into separate rows of knitting.
Unlike method A, this means that the pairs of pattern rows do not have to be identical. Among others, this
method is used by Passap Duomatic (punch card) machines with the Deco set to 2 (so that the rows are
doubled) and Passap E6000 machines where the pattern is over 40 stitches wide (See on page 481).
If a Japanese machine is used, the Double Row (elongate) switch must be used to double the downloaded
pattern rows.
l Pass 1 = colour 1, Row 1
l Pass 2 = colour 1, Row 1
l Pass 3 = colour 2, Row 1
l Pass 4 = colour 2, Row 1
l Pass 5 = colour 3, Row 1
l Pass 6 = colour 3, Row 1
l Pass 7 = colour 1, Row 2
l Pass 8 = colour 1, Row 2
l Pass 9 = colour 2, Row 2
l Pass 10 = colour 2, Row 2
l Pass 11 = colour 3, Row 2
l Pass 12 = colour 3, Row 2

Method D

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Method D separates each colour onto a separate reader card and is used to download patterns to the
Silver Reed PE1 Design Controller unit. The PE1 can then use that pattern with any of the Silver Reed
electronic machines. It is also used for the Passap E6000 knitting machine.

Method E
works on pairs of rows and separates each row into one pass for each colour, but with the colours for the
second row in reverse order. Method E is suitable for the Brother CK35 which has a Colour Changer at
both ends of the needle bed (See on page 475). For example, in a 3-colour Jacquard design there are six
passes, with the colours of rows 1 and 2 separated as follows:
l Pass 1 = colour 1, Row 1
l Pass 2 = colour 2, Row 1
l Pass 3 = colour 3, Row 1
l Pass 4 = colour 3, Row 2
l Pass 5 = colour 2, Row 2
l Pass 6 = colour 1, Row 2
If there are four colours per row, the fourth colour would become the central pair of passes, sandwiched
between the two passes of colour three.

Method F
is used when a Ribber or second bed are used. It is a Half Milano separation method, in which each pattern
row is separated into a pair of passes for each colour: the first pass knits the appropriate needles on the
main bed and working needles on the Ribber, but the return pass will only knit working needles on the
Ribber.
l Pass 1 = colour 1, Row 1, Main Bed + Ribber
l Pass 2 = colour 1, return, Ribber only
l Pass 3 = colour 2, Row 1, Main Bed + Ribber
l Pass 4 = colour 2, return, Ribber only
l Pass 5 = colour 3, Row 1, Main Bed + Ribber
l Pass 6 = colour 3, return, Ribber only
l Pass 7 = colour 1, Row 2, Main Bed + Ribber
l Pass 8 = colour 1, return, Ribber only
l Pass 9 = colour 2, Main Bed + Ribber
l Pass 10 = colour 2, return, Ribber only
l Pass 11 = colour 3, Main Bed + Ribber
l Pass 12 = colour 3, return, Ribber only

Yarn sequence errors

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Automatic checks are made before

downloading, printing and Inter-
active Knitting Jacquard patterns.
Jacquard errors are only possible
when using:
l A Japanese machine with 3-,
4-, 5-, or 6-colour Jacquard
l A Japanese machine with 2-
colour Jacquard and any
separation method except B
l A Passap E6000 when
technique numbers 902, 903,
or 904 are used
If there are unresolved yarn sequence errors, the top message shown on the right will appear.
If odd-numbered rows of the piece are wrongly located on even-numbered rows of the stitch pattern, the
bottom message shown on the right will appear.

Templates

DesignaKnit can produce scaled

template printouts for punch cards, Mylar sheets
and reader cards. Rows and stitch columns can
be defined to suit the exact stitch pattern used.
The number of rows can be entered in order to
prevent the printing of several vertical repeats on
punch card templates. The number of stitch
columns can be entered in case the full width of a
(Mylar) sheet is not used, or only a single repeat
is needed. Changing the number of stitch
columns for punch cards is inadvisable because
a punch card needs the pattern to be repeated
across the full width of the card.
The number of stitch columns and rows can be edited for all knitting machines, whether they are the Desig-
naKnit original machines, amendable "All Makes" or copied knitting machines.
The width of stitch columns and height of rows (in mm) are displayed for information only and are precisely
configured per machine to be an exact fit for using to trace over onto a Mylar sheet or punch through to
make a punch card.

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 Methods of Knitting (Complete)

Default technique

Stitch
technique numbers are specific to
Passap E6000 and E8000
machines to assign the colour
separation method that is used in
Interactive Knitting.
A default technique number can
be specified for each Passap
knitting machine in the Setup by
clicking the "Default technique"
button. This default number will be used when knitting Shape-only pieces, for new stitch patterns and for
stitch patterns that are open on the workspace and have not yet been assigned a technique number. Stitch
patterns that already have a technique applied are not affected by changing the default technique.
If a default technique number is changed, no error messages will appear because compatibility between
the currently open stitch pattern and the default technique number is not checked!

Stitch Pattern Methods

Fair Isle 359
Intarsia 360
Jacquard 361
Right & Wrong side facing texture 362
Summary 363

The possibilities of the stitch pattern designs depend on a combination of knitting machine options and the
method that is used to knit. For example, a Fair Isle pattern allows only two colours per row, whereas 4-
colour Jacquard works with four colours in each row. Intarsia is used to knit larger areas in one colour and
is generally applied to hand knitting, although a Silver Reed knitting machine used with the AG50 Intarsia
carriage will automate the process. Right / Wrong side facing texture methods are used for textured
knitting.
Stitch patterns can be designed and applied to garment pieces. A stitch pattern can comprise colours,
textures or both. Stitch pattern (.stp) files can be found, created and amended in the Stitch Designer part of
DesignaKnit and applied to individual pieces in shape files. Stitch patterns can also be created in Desig-
naKnit Graphics Studio in which graphic files are converted into stitch pattern files. Each stitch pattern file
has a method incorporated in its design. More detailed information on stitch pattern files and how they are
used can be found in Stitch Pattern Files (See page 432).
Stitch textures are the way in which DesignaKnit works yarns on the needle bed, independent of colours
used. Stitch textures can be slip, tuck, garter stitch, cable, lace or weave. They can be applied to stitch
pattern files in the Stitch Designer part of the program.
Methods are Fair Isle, Jacquard, Intarsia and Right / Wrong side facing texture methods with which the
stitch patterns are designed. The method is a property of the stitch pattern and can be changed in Options /
Method of Knitting during design or afterwards. The method chosen controls how the needles on the
knitting machine carriage are worked.

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The top of the DesignaKnit screen (as shown below) displays information about the shape file that is
currently loaded. The red arrow refers to the 4 colour Jacquard knitting method of the integrated stitch
pattern.

Reading from left to right the arrows point to the name of the shape file, the currently active piece (Sleeve),
the stitch pattern that is used (Sheep.stp), the abbreviation of the method (4), the tension and the knitting
machine if one is selected.
Different knitting methods can be used, depending on how many yarns are used, the complexity and repeti-
tions of the pattern and the selected knitting machine. All possibilities are briefly described below.

When a knitting method is changed it cannot be undone by using keyboard or button

action. It has to be changed back in the same way, through Options / Method of Knitting.

Although the actual knitting method is controlled

by the settings of the controls on the carriage,
DesignaKnit needs to know how to knit the
pattern. Selecting the knitting method determines
how the program downloads to the knitting
machine and enables display of any errors for that
particular method.
The method is a property of the stitch pattern,
which is illustrated on the left where a different
method can be selected for "bright.stp" (see red
oval) by clicking the drop down triangle (see red
arrow) in the "Machine Knit Options" dialogue,
bearing in mind that this will change the method
for all instances of that stitch pattern.
If the stitch pattern is integrated with a garment piece, the integrated position is contained within the shape
file for each piece and can be seen on the workspace in Original Pattern Drafting, Stitch Designer (when
the shape file pieces are displayed over the stitch pattern) and in the Interactive Knitting Progress
Windows.
Applying a different method changes the way in which stitch pattern or garment piece are worked, and also
has a bearing on printing the Integrated template (See page 390) if a punch card or Mylar sheet is used.
The different methods and when they are most appropriate have been described below.

Fair Isle
The Fair Isle method knits a maximum of two colours in a single pass of the carriage. This method can deal
with sections of true Fair Isle (with a maximum of two colours per row) as well as sections of texture, as
indicated by the presence of Smart Symbols.
Rows that contain a Smart symbol in addition to the main Knit or Purl have a needle selection that is
defined only by the smart symbol. Any colour pattern that is also present in the same row has no effect on
needle selection, but can be added for memo purposes, or for visualizing the pattern more easily. For

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 Methods of Knitting (Complete)

example, where Thread lace is used, a colour might illustrate the thread lace effect more easily visible than
just a symbol.
Fair Isle generally consists of a small repeating pattern where the colours are close together. The yarn is
carried across the back of the work, picked up when needed and so creating 'floats' of yarn on the reverse
side. This information is used in Integrated templates (See on page 394).

If more than one Smart symbol is used in one row,

an error message such as the one shown here is
displayed when saving, using the Stitch Designer
Check procedure, printing, downloading or at the
Interactive Knitting stage.

If a Fair Isle stitch pattern contains a selecting

colour as well as a smart symbol in the same
row, the message shown on the right appears.
The pattern will knit, but colour selection takes
precedence over smart symbols.
The advantage of Fair Isle over Jacquard is that the knitting is quicker because one pass of the carriage
knits two colours. Colour and texture (such as slip, tuck, cable, weave etc.) may be used in the same row,
as long as there are no more than two colours and one Smart symbol. Other stitch symbols can be placed
in the same row and if Stitch cables are added, they are subject to their own rules. When experimenting
with adding different symbols and textures the Stitch Designer Check option can be used to keep checking
whether a stitch pattern is still without errors.
Fair Isle should be chosen for:
○ Fair Isle knitted on a Brother, Silver Reed or Toyota machine.
○ Any pattern that uses mixed techniques, but that includes a band or bands of Fair Isle.
○ Thread Lace patterns, where the knitting machine has a Thread Lace setting.
○ Lace knitting and (for Brother and Silver Reed machines ) lace which is combined with Fair Isle and
textured knitting.
○ Garter stitch patterns knitted with the Brother Garter Carriage.
○ Reverse Fair Isle patterns, where the floats form the outer pattern to create pull-up or faux weave
effects. If the pattern is not entirely symmetrical, the Modify / Flip / Flip Horizontally menu option
needs to be used before saving, integrating and downloading to ensure that the pattern is the correct
way.
○ Hand knitting patterns which follow the same rules as those for machine Fair Isle.
Fair Isle should NOT be chosen for:
○ Patterns where the colours are knitted separated rather than in one row. In that case two colour
Jacquard should be chosen instead.
○ Passap knitting machines cannot knit two colours simultaneously, so the Fair Isle option is not avail-
able and two colour Jacquard should be chosen instead.

Intarsia
The Intarsia method allows knitting of separate areas of colour without floats, resulting in, for example, a
sheep in a meadow picture. At the edges of each different colour the yarns are crossed so that the areas
are connected without holes or gaps. With the exception of the Silver Reed AG50 Intarsia carriage which is
specially designed for Intarsia knitting, Intarsia patterns cannot be downloaded to a knitting machine.

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Intarsia is a manual technique whereby all the needles in use must be brought forward manually and the
yarns laid across the needle bed according to the pattern. It is most suitable for hand knitting.
Intarsia is primarily a method of producing multi coloured work but stitch textures (including stitch cables)
can also be used, any such technique usually having to be performed manually. There are no limitations of
the number of colours or stitch types that can be shown in any row, allowing complete freedom of mixing
colour and texture. There are, however, some things to be taken into account:
○ For the Silver Reed AG50 carriage, the needle selection is controlled only by the yarn colours and
not by stitch symbols.
○ At the Interactive Knitting stage, only the instructions for colour changing will be given. This inform-
ation is used by Integrated templates (See on page 396).

Jacquard
Using two, three, four, five, or six-colour Jacquard results in a fabric that may be reversible because the
back of the work does not have the floats that are produced in for example Fair Isle knitting. Instead it
produces a dotted effect. Jacquard patterns are achieved by knitting each colour separately onto selecting
needles, with the main carriage set to 'Slip'. Double-bed Jacquard can be knitted, with the understanding
that DesignaKnit can only program the main needle bed, not the Ribber or secondary needle bed.
2 colour Jacquard knits 2 colours in a row although there may be more colours in the pattern in total. If a
stitch pattern has 3 colours per row but, for example, 5 colours in total, the method must be at least 3 but
could also be 4 or 5 colour Jacquard, depending on how many yarns are required to be knitted in each row
of finished fabric. The more yarns in a row of finished fabric, the thicker the fabric. DesignaKnit will allocate
the different yarns to Colour Changer positions (See on page 490). Yarn allocation is described in detail in
"Yarn Numbers & Feeders" in the Stitch Designer manual.
In Stitch Designer, if the Jacquard method is changed to one with a higher number than there are yarns in
the pattern in total, it will generate an error message, but will still save the pattern with that method.
However, Yarn Numbers & Feeders will not display and the pattern will not open in Interactive Knitting.
Stitch Designer will always accept the method, even though an error message is generated in order to
provide greater flexibility to the user.
Changing a 4 colours per row pattern to 3 colour Jacquard in Original Pattern Drafting or Interactive
Knitting will generate an error message and the method will revert to its original state, while changing 4
colour Jacquard to 5 colour will apply the 5 colour Jacquard as long as there are at least 5 colours in total in
the pattern. This is because, although each row may only contain 4 colours, there may be a requirement to
knit 5 yarns for each row of finished fabric in order to avoid changing yarns, at a cost of resulting in a thicker
fabric.

Texture cannot be used in a Jacquard

pattern, but up to six colours can be
specified in any one row, depending on the
knitting machine. As needle selection is
controlled only by the yarn colours and not by stitch symbols, an error message such as the one shown
here will appear if Smart Symbols are used in a Jacquard stitch pattern. Smart Symbols are ignored in
printouts and cannot be downloaded to the knitting machine. A method consistent with the maximum
number of colours in a row should be chosen, according to which DesignaKnit will separate the colours and
display the sequence in which to knit.
The Jacquard separation method can be selected by clicking on the Jacquard button in knitting machine
setup (See page 352) and is also used in Integrated templates (See on page 396).
The advantage of double bed two colour Jacquard over Fair Isle is that there are no floats. As the contrast
yarn is fully knitted in at the back of the fabric it barely shows on the front. Another advantage is that the

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 Methods of Knitting (Complete)

tensions are constant throughout the knitted piece, whereas with Fair Isle the tensions can vary depending
on the lengths of the floats in each part of the piece.

Right & Wrong side facing texture

Right / Wrong side facing texture methods are used for textured knitting, using Slip, Tuck, Garter, Weave,
Lace or Cable techniques in patterns that do not contain Fair Isle bands with two colours in one row. There
is only one selecting and one deselecting stitch type in each row. These methods can also be used for all
over Lace patterns (for Brother electronic and Silver Reed machines), Lace combined with stitch texture
and for stitch patterns that are created using the Brother Garter Carriage.

If more than one Smart symbol is used in one row,

an error message such as the one on the right is
displayed when saving, using the Stitch Designer
Check procedure, printing, downloading or at the
Interactive Knitting stage.
Right side facing means that the right side is facing the knitter while they are seated at the knitting machine.
Wrong side facing means that the wrong side faces the knitter. Right side refers to the finished effect side,
which is the outside of a finished garment piece. Wrong side is the other side. Right and Wrong side facing
are terms commonly used outside the textiles industry. These terms are not to be confused with technical
face or technical back.
DesignaKnit will automatically flip the pattern for downloading if this is necessary, based on whether the
method is Right or Wrong side facing texture and the chosen knitting machine. The background selecting
stitch will be set to Knit or Purl accordingly and the other symbols will be deselecting.

An example of a stitch
pattern is shown on the left.
Although the stitch pattern
markings stays the same in
Grid view, the fabric views
change, depending on the
method of knitting that is
chosen. Wrong side facing
texture results in the second
image (where Knit is the
background stitch on deselecting needles), and Right side facing presents the third image (where Purl is
the background stitch on deselecting needles).
Right / Wrong side facing texture methods may contain a number of sections, each consisting of a set of
rows of any one of the techniques mentioned above (Tuck, Weave etc.). The pattern is designed by using
the Smart Symbols which control the needle selection. These symbols enable the needles to be arranged
correctly for downloading, indicate the carriage settings in Interactive Knitting where necessary and include
relevant information in the printed instructions. Other symbols may be included, but they are for memo
purposes and will not affect the needle selection.
As Right / Wrong side facing texture methods are texture based, the use of colours in the stitch patterns is
different to Fair Isle or Jacquard. Right / Wrong side facing texture methods patterns can contain as many
colours as wanted, without affecting the selection status of the needles. Actual colour changes are indic-
ated in the Stitch Designer File / Print / Colour changes printout and are clearly visible in the File / Print /
Stitch pat template printout if the "Colour" option is selected, but not in File / Print / Pattern text. It is
important to know that there can only be one opaque colour per row and DesignaKnit will present warnings
when printing templates or in Interactive Knitting if this is not the case. The opaque colour indicates the

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Methods of Knitting (Complete)

knitting yarn. As transparent colours are informational, they can be included as single stitches or blocks of
colour to indicate that something needs to change on a particular row.
If the colours are arranged in a band or bands (as in the image above) they are clearly visible in Interactive
Knitting, although some manual action is required to change to this colour. If a Colour Changer is used, the
colours need to be in bands of multiples of two, as the colour can only be changed on one side of the work
and the correct button on the Colour Changer will need to be pressed to switch to the desired one. If only
some stitch cells are coloured, Interactive Knitting will ignore them in favour of the main colour of the row
that is knitted.

Colours do not select needles and are not

mentioned in text printouts. If a pattern has
more than one colour on any row, and its
method of knitting is changed to RS or WS
from any of the other methods, the inform-
ational message shown on the right appears.
The change is accepted after "OK" is clicked.

The selecting state of the needles depends on the Smart Symbols. Tuck, Slip and Weave Under
symbols deselect needles, while Thread Lace and Weave Over select. For Right side facing textures,
the Knit stitch is selecting, while the Purl stitch is deselecting and for Wrong side facing textures the Purl
stitch selects, while the Knit stitch deselects. For a detailed description of all the symbols, the KnitWrite©
font chapter in the Stitch Designer manual can be consulted.

The Brother Garter carriage can be used to design stitch patterns consisting of Knit and Purl stitches to
draw a picture, much in the same way as a Fair Isle or Jacquard pattern uses colours. DesignaKnit can
download the stitch pattern to the Brother knitting machine, which can knit it with the Garter carriage. On
"Wrong side facing textures" the Knit side will be the effect side (front of the fabric). Any Purl stitches will be
formed on selecting needles and the pattern will be flipped from left to right before downloading. On "Right
side facing textures" the Purl side will be the effect side. Any Knit stitches will be formed on selecting
needles and the pattern will not be flipped before downloading. This information is also used by Integrated
templates (See on page 398).

Summary
All method specific criteria are listed in the summary below:

Method Criteria

Fair Isle Two colours can be worked simultaneously in a single row

(See page There must be one deselecting and one selecting colour somewhere in the pattern
359)
A Fair Isle pattern can contain sections of texture pattern in which one Smart symbol
can be used per row in addition to the main Knit or Purl stitch to create the texture
The needles select according to the colours in the Fair Isle rows or according to
texture Smart Symbols and if there is a mix, the Smart Symbols take precedence
If a Garter carriage is used, the Purl stitch, as seen from the finished side of the fabric,
is the selecting stitch
The main stitch on the finished side of the Fair Isle fabric is Knit

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Method Criteria

Jacquard This method is colour based and up to 6 colours can be specified in any one row
(See page Colours are separated and one fabric row will be formed by multiple passes of the
361) carriage to work each colour
Smart Symbols cannot be used in a Jacquard pattern

Right / Used for textured knitting where there is only one colour in a row
Wrong side
facing One selecting and one deselecting stitch type in each row
texture Used for Tuck or Slip stitch patterns and garter stitch patterns which do not include a
methods band or bands of Fair Isle
(See page Used for Lace stitch patterns
362)
If Tuck, Slip, Thread Lace, Weave or garter carriage symbols have been used the
required carriage settings will be indicated in Interactive Knitting and in the printed
instructions
Purl stitches will be formed on selecting needles on the effect side of the fabric when
using the Wrong side facing texture on Brother Garter carriage patterns
Knit stitches will be formed on the effect side when the Right side facing method is
used on Brother Garter carriage patterns
Only one opaque colour can be knitted in each row
Transparent colours can be used for memo purposes

Intarsia Intarsia uses a separate ball or cone of yarn for each colour area
(See page Yarns need to be laid across the needle bed and crossed between colour areas to
360) result in a smooth fabric without gaps
No restrictions in the number of colours
No restrictions in stitch types, including cables, although these techniques will need to
be performed by hand
Patterns can only be downloaded to the Silver Reed AG50 Intarsia carriage
If downloaded, colour instructions will be given, but stitch types will be ignored in Inter-
active Knitting

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Printing Shapes
Page Setup 366
Global Print Options 367
Copy to Clipboard 371
Save to Image File 372
Setup for chosen format 372

The menu option File / Print and the Print button in the Left Toolbar of Original Pattern Drafting,
Standard Garment Styling and Stitch Designer as well as the Shapes / Print Shapes menu option of Stitch
Designer can be used to print a wealth of different print formats of garment pieces and stitch patterns.
In Stitch Designer, if the integration between the stitch pattern and garment piece has changed, by for
example moving the garment piece over the stitch pattern, the shape file needs to be saved before the
changes are taken into account in the Print formats. If changes have taken place, appropriate prompts will
be given to save the stitch pattern and the shape file.
When selected the "Print Pattern Pieces" dialogue as shown below is presented. If a stitch pattern has
been applied its name will be shown in the box to the right of the affected Pattern Piece.

In this initial screen

options are given to
select pieces with
their corresponding
stitch patterns for
printing. After making
the selection and
choosing one of the
available formats on
the right, "Next" can
be clicked to
proceed. Each option
chosen leads to a
different output. In all
cases the "Page
Setup" dialogue as
shown below is
presented next.

Some of the "Available formats" options are greyed out unless ONLY pieces with "stitch patterns" are
selected.

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Using the File / Print menu option or the Print button on

the Left Toolbar in Stitch Designer for a stitch pattern will
present a smaller list of available print formats, as shown on
the right. Where necessary, differences have been described
in the text below, but in the main, the options for each print
format are the same.
"Stitch pat template" is only available if a knitting machine
with punch card capabilities has been selected.

Page Setup
General options can be stipulated in this dialogue, all of
which are retained for future sessions.
"Page Dimensions" gives the option of printing to A4, A3
or US Letter format. Alternatively a custom page size can
be entered to suit particular needs. This option can be
used to preview printed instructions in a different format so
they are easier to see on the screen. E.g., using 'A4' when
previewing a template will show less of it on the screen, in
a seemingly larger font, than using 'A3'. The "Other (mm)"
reflects the sizes of the selected Page Dimensions but
may also be used to create custom sizes. This feature can
be used for making meaningful screenshots.
"Page Margins" are represented in mm and each value
can be changed to suit requirements.
"Portrait" or "Landscape" can be chosen.
The chosen "Format" is displayed in the lower section of
the dialogue, which in this case is 'Stitch pat picture'. The
button bar can be used to access a number of different
options.

returns to the previous screen where different choices can be made of pieces and print formats.

copies the selected piece with all its settings to the clipboard (See page 371).

saves the selected piece with all its settings to a bmp (bitmap) file (See page 372).

displays the settings for the selected print format (See page 372).

displays the general print options that apply to all print formats (See page 367).

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 Printing Shapes (Complete)

cancels the action, returning to the workspace.

opens context sensitive help which goes straight to the help section of the chosen print format.
I.e., if "Shaping as X's" is the chosen format, pressing this Help button will go to help about
"Shaping as X's".

can be clicked to view the result before

committing to printing. It spans the full computer screen, but
can be made smaller by double clicking in the blue title bar or
clicking and holding the mouse cursor anywhere in the title
bar and dragging it down. Double clicking the title bar again
will return the display to full screen. "Previous page" and "Next page" are available if there is more
than one page to be printed for the piece for which the instructions are currently displayed.
Clicking "Close", or pressing the Esc key, will close the preview of the current piece, displaying the
next if this is applicable.

will print the work to a (Windows) system printer.

Global Print Options

All Formats 368
Test Page 369
Japanese notation 369
Size in Pixels 371

When viewing this help file on the computer, the cursor

may be hovered over the Camera and Disk symbols
and clicked to go straight to these options.

When viewing this

manual on the computer,
the cursor may be
hovered over the image.
Where the cursor
changes to a hand it can
be clicked on as a quick
way of getting to the
relevant section.

Clicking the double spanner

button will present the
dialogue shown on the left,
in which a variety of options
can be selected and changed. "Your Company Name" can be filled in and details of what needs to be
included in the printout header can also be selected here. Any of these options can be changed at any time
and will apply to all printouts in DesignaKnit from then on.

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A couple of results of the options as shown above are shown in the

images on the left for different print formats.
If a name had been filled in for Company name, it would have
shown in the top line instead of "Your Company Name".
The middle line displays the "Pattern Identifier" and the bottom line
contains the "Format" (Piece summary and Stitch pat picture)
information. In the first image, as a shape file was chosen, both the
shape file name and the current garment piece are shown, while in
the second image, a stitch pattern was selected in which case the stitch pattern name and the knit method
are displayed.

All Formats

Clicking the "All Formats"

button in the Global Print
Options dialogue displays the
"Print format options" from
which each option can be
chosen to modify. If the desired
settings are known, it may be
quickest to adjust them here, as
all the options are listed
together.
Alternatively, each format to be
changed can be selected on the
first "Print Option" screen
(Shaping as X's, Piece
summary, Knit Leader etc.),
after which "Next" and the
single spanner option can be
clicked. This opens the options
for that particular format
directly. Either way the same
dialogues are presented in
which to make changes.

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Test Page

"Test Page" will print a generic test to see that the

printer returns a printed box measuring 15 cm by 15
cm exactly. If this is not the case "Printer Compens-
ation Factors" on this Test Page screen can be
used to compress the whole graphic slightly
horizontally or vertically, until the printout is correct.
This may be necessary for Mylar or reader card
templates. If the necessary adjustment is out of the
0.990 and 1.0010 range, it is possible that a more
up to date printer driver is required.
The "Current unprintable margins" displayed in the
centre are there for information only and cannot be
changed.

Japanese notation

This is where the format of notation on the printouts can be

specified. This can be set differently for slopes and for
horizontal edges, depending on requirements and prefer-
ences. The default settings are as displayed on the left.
The settings in this section are used in the "Garment
Notation" format (See on page 380). The image shown
below is the result of using the notations as they are set in the defaults. Note that markers (see blue arrows)
have been set to display in the Garment Notation options to clarify the picture. The markers show the row
numbers. The "For horizontal edges" notation is on the straight edge on the right, the "For slopes" notation
on the left, in a straight column.

The "For slopes" box can contain up to a maximum of 17 characters. The "For horizontal edges" is
limited to a maximum of 12 characters.

Each symbol represents a value or text and translates to a certain notation for printouts, which can be put
together in a suitable form. Below is a table with symbols that can be used. Different text may be used to
customise the output, e.g., instead of using just 'e' to indicate every, the word 'every' may be entered in the
field.

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symbol description property

@ row number at which shaping starts value

+ cast on or increase value
- cast off or decrease (not shown as a separate symbol) value
> number of stitches to cast on / increase or cast off / decrease value
^ number of rows to knit straight value
* number of times an action needs to be repeated value
: punctuation (to help readability) text
e every text
r row text
s indicates stitches (to help readability) text
x times (to help readability) text
() can be used to help with readability text
spaces can be used to help with readability text

The "+" symbol will result in either a "+" or "-" value when printed, depending on whether increases or
decreases are called for.

Text will print exactly as it is entered here, and is not restricted to the text shown in the table above.
However, more text used will mean it takes up more space on the printout which may hinder rather than
help. The setting can be manipulated at any time and is remembered for all printouts.
Value will translate the symbol into the actual value of the pattern, as shown in the examples below. The
flexibility means that some experimenting may be necessary to arrive at the optimum result.
Examples for slopes:

This notation prints as: and translates to:

At row 24 increase 1 stitch, knit 9 rows. Do this 6

@:+>s^x* 24:+1s9x6
times
At row 148 decrease 1 stitch, knit 2 rows. Do this 4
@:+>s^x* 148:-1s2x4
times
Identical to above, but with spaces and () to define
@: + >s ^ (x*) 24: + 1s 9 (x6)
actions
@: +1s e^ rows More readable but takes up more space on the
24: +1s e9 rows (6x)
(*x) pattern

Examples for horizontal edges:

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 Printing Shapes (Complete)

This notation prints as: and translates to:

at row 150: (12) at row 150 cast off 12 stitches

at row @: (>)
at row 0: (148) at row 0 cast on 148 stitches

Size in Pixels
The "Size in Pixels for ClipBoard or BMP File" setting is used when making copies to the clipboard or to a
.bmp image file in order to save an image of the work separately. This is useful for pasting into notes or for
sending to third parties, such as pattern publishers. The size in pixels can be adjusted to one that is
suitable. The default size is 1500 pixels by 1500 pixels which results in an image that roughly takes up 9
MB of memory.
Application programs such as DesignaKnit cannot use memory as efficiently as printer drivers do, and
entering a pixel size of more than a couple of thousand is likely to cause the program to take a very long
time in trying to produce even a medium quality image. High resolution images may nevertheless be
obtained by installing a PDF printer as an alternative to the physical printer(s). This enables any printed
output to be sent to a PDF file instead of to a physical printer. The PDF printer can be selected instead of
the normal printer each time anything is printed, including any of the DesignaKnit print formats. The resol-
ution may be set using the PDF printer driver software to the highest resolution levels required for pattern
publishing.

Changing the values in the "Global Print Options" dialogue (See

on page 367) will affect the resolution of the image and the size of
the file in memory. E.g., entering 500 x 500 instead of the default
1500 x 1500 will result in a smaller file size (1 instead of 9 Mbytes)
but the image will not be as clear in software such as Word, Paint
or any other third party software. Generally the default setting will result in a clearly defined image.

Copy to Clipboard
When the camera button is clicked the piece that is
ticked in the "Print Pattern Pieces" dialogue is placed on
the Clipboard. If another application, such as a word
processor, desktop publisher, or other program that can
handle bitmap images is opened the copied image may
be copied directly into this using the File, Copy function or "Ctrl-V", depending on what this application
uses. The contents of the Clipboard are available until they are overwritten by any other action that places
contents in there, whether from DesignaKnit or other programs.

This option will work for the selected piece! If more than one piece has been ticked, the last
one will be copied to the clipboard. To copy the others they have to be ticked in turn, copied
to the clipboard and dealt with one by one.

What is copied to the clipboard depends on the options that have been selected.
○ If Shaping as X's, Garment outline or another picture based format has been chosen, clicking the
camera button will make a picture style copy, with colour, white or grey stitch pattern, with or without
row numbers, exactly as has been set in the relevant options.

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○ If Piece summary, Yarn calculation or another text based output has been selected, the resulting clip
will be in text, and can be manipulated as such after it has been pasted into another program.
Whereas the result for say Yarn calculation can easily be manipulated as text, it depends on the
chosen font whether the table is lined up neatly or not.
○ If Stitch pat picture, Stitch pat symbols or Stitch pat template have been selected in Stitch Designer,
the contents of the clipboard will be an image, whereas Colour changes, Pattern text and Key to
symbols will result in text.

If pasting a text based clipboard cutting to a word processor, a mono spaced (fixed width)
font such as Courier or Consolas should be selected so the text is lined up neatly.

Even if a preview would show a print over several pages, the Copy to Clipboard utility will print the entire
piece fitted into the size of the image as set in Size in Pixels box. If the resulting picture is larger than the
print page it is pasted into, the behaviour of the word processor will take over to fit the image within the
page.

Save to Image File

Similar to the Copy to Clipboard Option in the way that
its information is derived from the chosen piece and
settings, this option will save the result directly into a
BMP (bitmap) file which can be used to insert into other
programs like a word processor, paint program or
desktop publisher. If more than one piece has been selected DesignaKnit offers each of the pieces to be
saved as a .bmp file with a different name.
The default Windows location where images are saved is offered and a default file name "bmp00001.bmp"
is presented. The name and location of the file can be changed at this point. Every time the file is saved
under this default name, the number will be incremented. Clicking "Save" will complete the save action(s)
after which the program returns to the "Page Setup" dialogue.

If a different name is chosen to save the file(s), ensure the name has a number at the end in
order for the DesignaKnit to be able to save more than one piece under incrementing file
names.

Both Image output like "Shaping as X's" and text based output like "Yarn calculation" are saved as image
files when using this option. Whereas the result for say, yarn calculation is neatly lined up and easy to read,
it cannot be manipulated like a text file. Once saved the image can be used as it is, or opened in a Picture
manager program such as Windows MSPaint, Irfanview, Photoshop etc. to be manipulated further and
saved under a different name and format. For more information about file locations (See on page 410).

Setup for chosen format

Shaping as X's 373
Piece summary 376
KnitLeader 378

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KnitRadar 379
Garment outline 379
Garment notation 380
Garment text & Stitch pattern text 380
Key to symbols 384
Yarn Calculation 384
Garment picture & Stitch pat picture 387
Garment symbols & Stitch pat symbols 389
Integrated template 390
Integrated changes 403

When a format has been selected the single spanner

button can be clicked to change options of that partic-
ular format. Alternatively, they can all be modified in the
"Global Print Options" (See on page 368) in one sitting if
the desired settings are known, saving time. The
advantage of using the Setup per chosen format is that options can be altered, previewed and fine tuned
until the printout is satisfactory.
Each format results in a different printout and can be fine tuned to requirements. Not all options are
relevant in all cases and the resulting printouts are dependent on the options chosen for the design, such
as machine or hand knitting, stitch pattern applied or not, different knitting stitches and colour symbols
defined and applied in Stitch Designer, knitting method employed and many more variables.

On first accessing this option the first garment piece

in the list is ticked. Pieces in the shape file can be
deselected and selected in turn or more than one
piece can be ticked in which case one piece after
another will display on "Preview" of the selected
Print format. If other pieces than the first one have
been chosen, this selection is remembered by Desig-
naKnit until a different shape file is opened.
If stitch patterns are integrated their names are
shown next to each garment piece and their method
of knitting is indicated by the letter or number to their right. In this example a test 'garment' was created in
which each piece has a different stitch pattern with a different method.
Where applicable a generic image has been supplied to show the result of a particular printout, using a
square piece with a pattern applied. More examples of printouts can be found on
https://softbyte.co.uk/dk9printouts.htm.

Shaping as X's
This printout gives a good 'at a glance' indication of the shape and number of stitches and rows of each
piece because each stitch is represented by an X against a grey background of the shape. A variety of
settings can be altered in the Options screen by clicking the single spanner button. Each option is
described below.

"Stitch Representation" and "Stitch Colour are greyed out in this dialogue as they are irrelevant to this
printout. These options are very useful to the "Garment picture" printout (See on page 387).

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○ Scaling - "Fit to a page" or "% of actual size" can be experimented with for the most optimal display
on the print page. If the option "Fit to a page" is chosen, each selected piece will print onto a separate
page and each page will display in turn when either "Close" is clicked or the Esc key is pressed. The
X's may not print clearly but the shape of the piece is clearly displayed on the page. If 100 is entered
in the "% of actual size" box, the piece(s) will print to full size and will, depending on their actual size,
print over several pages that can be lined up and taped together to arrive at a full scale paper
printout.
○ Stitch Aspect Ratio - selecting "True" returns a shape based on the tensions set. Stitches may be
square or rectangular depending on proportions of the tension and the printout will be proportionally
correct. Selecting "Square" supposes each stitch to be a square, resulting in a printout that might not
be to actual proportions. E.g., if the tension is set to 7 stitches and 10 rows per inch, the X's in "True"
will appear rectangular, in "Square" they will be square.
○ Main Grid Thickness and Grid Divisions - the main grid divisions are set to the size specified in
Options / Grid Division Size in Stitch Designer. If this is set to e.g., "10" the grid lines will appear
every 10 stitches and 10 rows. The grid divisions can appear as square or rectangular, depending on
the tension settings and / or the setting of "Stitch Aspect Ratio". The "Main Grid Thickness" indicates
the thickness of each line, 0 being thinnest.

○ Colour Demarcation Thickness - only makes a

difference to the printout when pieces with a stitch
pattern have been selected. It will then trace a black
line around each colour depending on the thickness
chosen. 0 means there is no line, in which case the
stitch pattern will be invisible as in the second image
on the right. Choosing a value between 1 and 3 will
show up the stitch pattern, as shown in the first image
on the right. As shaping with X's is concerned with
shaping and not the stitch pattern, the X's are on a grey stitch background, while the shape itself is
shown against a white background. The colour of the demarcation lines will be the same as the grid
colours that are chosen in the stitch pattern that is used, as explained in Colour Scheme in the Stitch
Designer manual. In this example, the grid lines were black, but they could have been red, blue,

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 Printing Shapes (Complete)

green or even white. If they are white and the stitch pattern contains white yarn and / or a white
background, the grid, and therefore the demarcation lines, will be present but not be visible.
○ Stitch Colour - is not applicable to Shaping as X's and is therefore greyed out.

○ Stitch Numbering - can be set to different numbering conventions.

Knitting machines generally use numbering to spread out from a centre
stitch in both directions.Hand knitting usually favours numbering from
left to right. The example on the right shows stitch numbering in addition
to row numbering. In this case the 12345 stitch numbering convention
was ticked at a display size of 50%, resulting in showing stitches 10, 20,
30 and 40. More stitch numbers will be shown if the pattern is viewed at
actual size.

○ Miscellaneous - "Row numbering" can be switched on or off to

display row numbers on the printout. The "Inverted left to right (for
machine knitting)" setting can be used to flip the stitch pattern
horizontally so that the printout can be viewed from the finished or
reverse side of the knitting, as shown on the right. This option is
disabled and greyed out for hand knitting.Ticking "Omit duplicate
rows" will switch on "Row numbering" automatically and can make
it easier to read the pattern.
A combination of ticking "Row numbering" and "Omit duplicate
rows" results in a printout showing only the rows where changes
take place. This can be a more concise printout and very useful if the proportional view is not
needed, as shown below.
The leftmost image below shows a detail of a stitch pattern on a garment piece. Row and stitch
numbering were ticked as well as a Colour Demarcation thickness of "1" to show where the colour
areas will be. "Omit duplicate rows" was ticked to produce the second image, showing how notation
and image change for the affected rows. Some of the shaping, which happens further up in the piece,
is now visible.

When "Row numbering" and "Omit duplicate rows" are combined it is possible that the row numbers
are printed so closely together that they become unreadable (see rightmost image above). This is a
result of the "Scaling Settings" and adjusting this to a larger or even 100% size will display the
numbers in a readable way, as shown in the middle image.

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The option to "Omit Duplicate Rows" can also

be very useful for patterns with stitch cables,
as the rows in between the crossings are
repeats that need no further instructions. The
example on the left shows part of the same
cable pattern before and after ticking the
"Omit duplicate rows" option.

Piece summary

This option prints a summary of the proper-

ties of the selected pieces including rib, cuff
and neckband information that is not
displayed in any other printouts, as well as
some information that is applicable to the
entire garment. In addition to the tensions
used, any optional information that was
typed in the notes of the "Tensions" dialogue
like knitting machine settings, needle size,
who it was designed for etc., will be printed.

Rib, cuff and neckband instructions (See

on page 428) are only detailed in "Piece
Summary"

Any or all of the options can be ticked to be included in the report. When selections are made and "OK" is
clicked, the "Preview" option returns something similar to the images below.
If a garment originates from a Standard Garment Styling design, the printout will include the body measure-
ments that it is based on. "Casting on + rib instructions" and "Neckband instructions (if appropriate)" are
applicable only to garments that have originated as Standard Garment Styling garments, where these
properties can be defined. This information will stay with the garment pieces, whether or not they have later
been altered in Original Pattern Drafting.

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If a garment is purely designed in Original Pattern Drafting, garment type and body measurements are not
available and the information that is encased in the red rounded rectangle in the image above will be
absent.
Piece summary displays information for hand and machine knit garment pieces and is printed for
whichever method of knitting has been chosen at the time of accessing Print options.
The knitting instructions will display which needles are used for casting on, where the carriage needs to be
(or how many stitches to cast on for hand knitting) and how many rows of rib need to be knitted for
Standard Garment Styling garment pieces that include rib and have not been altered in Original Pattern
Drafting.

If pieces have been altered in Original Pattern Drafting, rib information is no longer avail-
able and the "Knit rib if any" instruction appears directly below the casting on information.

If ribs, cuffs or neckband are desired for Original Pattern Drafting garments they need to be added as
separate pieces.

If a garment was designed in Standard Garment Styling, not altered in Original Pattern Drafting, and
includes a neckband, this information will be printed in the Piece Summary on every page if the "Neckband
instructions (if appropriate)" option is ticked. Selecting "Horizontally ribbed" or "Vertically ribbed" Neckband
results in different knitting instructions, as shown in the images below.

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KnitLeader

A KnitLeader is a 100% size printout of the design shape,

which can be inserted between the guides of a knitting
machine. It guides the knitting process and helps to see
when to increase or decrease.
Either, both or none of the options can be ticked. Depending
on the paper size used, the resulting prints may need to be
lined up and taped together to make the complete pattern.
"Inverted left to right" can be ticked to flip the stitch pattern
horizontally so that the printout can be viewed from the
finished or reverse side of the knitting, as required.
The option to print the right half only is useful with symmetrical pieces in order to fit the printout more easily
on the guides.

If markers need to be shown, the "Garment Outline"

print type may be used instead. On the left, a few
'pages' have been added to show what printouts from
the KnitLeader screen could look like.

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KnitRadar
A KnitRadar is identical to a KnitLeader, except that it prints out at 50% of the actual size.

Either, both or none of the options above can be selected.

Depending on the paper size used, the resulting prints may
need to be lined up and taped together to make the
complete pattern. Inverted left to right flips the piece.
The option to print the right half only is useful with symmet-
rical pieces in order to fit the printout more easily on the
guides. If markers need to be shown, the "Garment Outline"
print type may be used instead.

Garment outline

This option can be used to print a full scale version of the

pieces or a simple outline to scale. Depending on the paper
size used, the resulting prints may need to be lined up and
taped together to make the complete pattern. Alternatively,
print sizes can be manipulated until each piece fits on a
page.

The options on the "Setup for

Garment outline" on the
leftmost image were used to
produce the example shown
here.
"Fit to a page" can be selected
to get each piece fitted to the
page size that has been
chosen in the main print
options screen (A4, A3, Letter
or custom size). Alternatively
the piece may be printed as a percentage of the actual size.
"Inverted left to right" can be used to flip the stitch pattern horizontally so that the printout can be viewed
from the finished or reverse side of the knitting, as required.
The "Include markers" option prints any yarn markers that have been added into the piece while designing.
Yarn markers can be used in a variety of helpful ways, such as marking additional points while blocking,
marking colour changes or matching up garment pieces when they are being fitted together. The 'baby
cardigan' example above includes markers, which are shown as little squares.

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Garment notation

This option results in a printout of the knitting

instructions superimposed on an outline of the
garment piece, based on the settings of "Global
Print Options" (See page 369).
The most common Setup is to select "Fit to a
Page" and "Inverted left to right". This last option
can be used to flip the stitch pattern horizontally
so that the printout can be viewed from the
finished or reverse side of the knitting, as
required.
"Print notation in straight columns" may make the
notation clearer. Not ticking this box can result in
notations running through each other as they
follow the curves of the piece.
Ticking "Include markers" will print any yarn markers that have been added into the piece while designing,
to clearly show where e.g., seams need to be joined, where endpoints on the body for a drop shoulder
sleeve buttonholes are located etc.

An example of a printout is shown on the left,

based on the default notation of @:+>s^x* for
slopes and @: (>) for horizontal edges.
"Print notation in straight columns" and "Include
markers" were both ticked.

Garment text & Stitch pattern text

Pattern Text - applies to stitch patterns only and

contains instructions to knit one repeat of the stitch
pattern, without shaping. It can be accessed by using
Print / Pattern Text and Shapes / Print Shapes /
Garment text in Stitch Designer.
Garment Text - applies to garment pieces and prints
step by step knitting instructions for the selected piece,
including shaping and stitch pattern instructions for all
required pattern repeats. It can be accessed by using
Print / Garment text in Original Pattern Drafting and
Standard Garment Styling.

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The setup screen, as shown on the left, is identical for each of these options. The two "Include" options are
only available if a stitch pattern is involved, either because it is integrated with the current garment piece or
if it is printed on its own. They can be ticked or unticked as required (See also Key to symbols on
page 384).
The default number of characters for the line length is set at 80 to fit A4 and Letter size paper, but can be
adjusted if required.

Garment Text does not include information pertaining to ribs, cuffs and neckband that may have been
included in Standard Garment Styling and if this information is needed, Piece summary (See page 376)
needs to be printed separately and read together with these printouts.

(Stitch) Pattern and Garment Text are

unavailable for Jacquard and the
warning message shown on the right
will be displayed if it is attempted. As
each yarn is knitted by one pass of the carriage and multiple passes of the carriage make up one row of
knitting, a printout could only be confusing. When a Jacquard pattern is downloaded to the knitting
machine, colour separation is taken care of automatically.
Casting on instructions are given, followed by instructions for each row, taking shaping into account where
necessary. The instructions will reflect if rows are to be knitted identically. What is actually printed depends
on options that have been defined here, elsewhere in the program and the method of knitting. Stitch
symbols and colours will only print insofar as they are present and defined.

Yarn information (see on the left) will be included automatically if more than
one colour exists in the pattern and each has been assigned a Yarn
Symbol.

Yarn symbols and stitch symbols are different, with Yarn symbols refer-
ring to colours of the yarn, while stitch symbols refer to the knitting
stitches and techniques used like Knit, Purl, Tuck etc.

If not all colours have been assigned a

Yarn Symbol, the message as shown
on the right will appear. Yarn Symbols
can be assigned in Stitch Designer by
using the Palettes / Yarn Symbols
menu option, using letters, numbers or symbols to distinguish one from another. Colour names can be
entered in Palettes / Colour Names. If both are filled in for all colours that are used, all information will be
included. If a colour name has not been entered, it will be represented by "???", as shown above, where
Yarn symbol 'G' has not been assigned a Yarn name.
More information about setting up these symbols is given in the Stitch Designer section of the manual.

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Garment Text - the "Shape Only options" dialogue will

be displayed for pieces that do not have an associated
stitch pattern, when clicking on "Preview", after exiting
the options screen.
Hand or Machine knitting can be switched to as well
choosing whether the fabric is to be Wrong side facing
(machine knit, as shown on the left) or whether Row 1 is
the wrong side (hand knit).

Clicking "OK" on the "Shape Only options" dialogue displays a preview. If more than one piece has been
selected to be viewed or printed in the previous steps each one will be displayed subsequently, offering the
"Shape Only options" screen every time it is appropriate so options can be adjusted if needed. For those
pieces that are integrated with a stitch pattern, where more than one colour is used and Yarn Symbols have
been assigned to all used colours, this information is automatically included in the printout for each row.

The "Shape Only options" screen is displayed only for pieces without an integrated stitch pattern.

Some examples have been worked out below. To make the printouts easier to follow, the corresponding
Interactive Knitting "Piece Overview" Progress Window has been shown to the left of the Pattern Text
information. In each case the work is shown at the start of knitting and can easily be identified as Hand or
Machine knitting by the appearance of either a knitting needle or a knitting carriage at the bottom of the
piece.
Hand knitting: If an integrated garment piece is chosen in which all the yarns have been given Yarn
Symbols, colour information will automatically be added to each row of the printout. In this example, after
casting on 42 stitches, the first row has to be worked with 5 stitches of Yarn (A), 1 stitch of (D), 7 stitches of
(A) etc. Each row of knitting is then worked, changing the colours as indicated until row 7, where the first
shaping instruction takes place.

The same piece was used to produce a printout of a Shape-only, to be knitted in one colour only. As there
are no different yarns to be taken into account, the knitting instructions become more concise by only
showing the shaping instructions from row 7.

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Machine knitting: If an integrated garment piece is chosen in which all the colours have been given
Yarn Symbols, DesignaKnit will automatically add the colour information to each row of the printout. This
example uses a Fair Isle stitch pattern that is integrated with a sleeve garment piece. Each R(ow)
describes exactly how many stitches of each yarn colour are used.
In this example, after casting on 42 stitches, the colour pattern of row 1 consists of 5 stitches of yarn (A), 1
stitch of (G), 7 stitches (A) etc. Shaping instructions are introduced at row 7.

The same piece was used to produce a printout of a Shape-only garment piece, to be knitted in one colour.
As there are no different yarns to be taken into account, the knitting instructions become much more
concise by only showing the shaping instructions from row 7.

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Key to symbols
The Key to symbols option is available if all selected pieces have an integrated stitch pattern, otherwise it is
greyed out.

"Symbols", "Abbreviations" and "Instructions" are

defined in the Stitch Designer part of the program,
although the basic stitches of Knit and Purl are defined
as default and will print as "Abbreviations" and "Instruc-
tions" in all cases. If colours have been defined in the
stitch pattern the symbols for these will also be printed
by ticking these options.
It may be useful to have a separate printout of
Symbols, Abbreviations and Instructions for reference
during the knitting process, rather than include them in
Pattern or Garment Text. One or both options have to
be selected in this dialogue whereas they can both be
unticked in the Garment and Pattern Text dialogues.

Provided all colours in the stitch pattern

have been given yarn symbols and
names, the printout could look similar to
the image on the left. The symbol for the
expected stitch is always (blank). For
patterns that consist of Knit and Purl
stitches, the unexpected stitch will be a "."
and for other techniques the unexpected
stitch is shown by its own specific symbol.
As a Symbol may have a different use
depending on whether it appears on the
Right or Wrong side of the garment piece,
but the abbreviation always means the
same, this information is split into two
separate items that can be selected.
The "." symbol in this example can mean Purl on the Right Side (RS) and Knit on the Wrong side (WS) and
is indicated, as shown in the top half of the image. The abbreviation "P" however always means Purl.
The abbreviations K1tbl and P1tbl always mean Knit through back of loop and Purl through back of loop in
the instructions. However, both symbols in the red oval have the same abbreviation because of their
positions in the stitch pattern. In other stitch patterns, one of them could easily have the "K1tbl" (Knit
through back of loop) abbreviation and instruction.
The KnitWrite© font that is shipped with DesignaKnit allows other stitches to be defined in Stitch Designer,
as described in the Stitch Designer manual.

Yarn Calculation
Yarn calculations will be done for ribs and cuffs for Standard Garment Styling garment pieces which have
not been converted to Original Pattern Drafting. Ribs and cuffs are not included for pieces that have been
purely designed in Original Pattern Drafting or that have been converted from Standard Garment Styling to
Original Pattern Drafting.

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Whether a piece has been created in or converted to

Original Pattern Drafting can be seen by accessing
Piece / Select Piece, Shapes / View Piece(s) or
Shape File / Select Piece in Original Pattern Drafting,
Stitch Designer or Interactive Knitting respectively.

Rib information will be included for all pieces that show dots in the SGS column only as those pieces are
purely Standard Garment Styling. A shape file can include pieces that are Standard Garment Styling and
pieces that have been converted to Original Pattern Drafting.
Adding stitch patterns to shape (garment) pieces does not affect their status. The status is changed
however, adding a dot in the OPD and / or ESL columns, if:
○ the piece is renamed through Piece / Rename, even if it is later renamed to the original name
○ a piece outline is changed by moving stitches, thereby converting it to an Exact Stitch Layout piece
○ it is altered by any of the tools in Original Pattern Drafting, including moving points

The original Standard Garment

Styling status can only be returned to by
clicking the Standard Garment Styling program
button shown on the left, after which a warning,
similar to the one shown on the right, will appear to indicate that indeed ALL Original Pattern Drafting
changes that have been made to the piece(s) in question will be lost, be it changing the name, adding or
deleting pieces, moving points or any other change. The garment will then be shown in the Standard
Garment Styling screen after which it needs to be saved if it is to be converted to Standard Garment
Styling. Ribs and cuffs that have been configured for any of the pieces will then be included in the Yarn
Calculation printouts. Shape files that were created in Original Pattern Drafting cannot be converted to
Standard Garment Styling as they do not include the necessary properties to do so.

The calculation of the number of

stitches and amounts of each
yarn needed is based on
tensions, chosen garment pieces
and different colours used. As
yarn weights can vary, the values
upon which to base the calcu-
lation need to be entered
manually in the "Yarn Calculation
Setup" dialogue, and should be
based on a sample of actual
knitting. As there is only one
value and weight unit to be filled
in, it is important that the tension
swatch contains all the different
yarns that are to be used in the
final design in representative
proportions. Yarn calculation
works best if the yarns used do not vary too much in weight.
The tension swatch needs to be weighed exactly and if, for example, a swatch of 40 stitches and 60 rows
weighs 10 grams, these exact figures must be entered into the "Yarn Calculation Setup" dialogue. The

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desired "Yarn units" can be entered as grams, ounces or whatever is required (see red oval) and will be
shown as such in the Calculation printout.
The necessary information is assembled from different parts of DesignaKnit. If a stitch pattern has been
used for any or all of the pieces in the design, the program will take this into account and calculate how
much is needed of each yarn. A summary for all pieces in the entire shape file will be produced if the "Calcu-
late yarn required for ALL pieces" box is ticked. If this box is unticked, a yarn calculation will be printed for
each of the pattern pieces that is ticked (See page 365).

The leftmost
image is a
printout for all
pieces (see
dark blue
arrow) of the
shape file
shown immedi-
ately to the left.
The shape file consists of Standard
Garment Styling pieces only, some of
which are integrated with a stitch pattern.
Tensions are printed for the main
garment and the ribbing (see blue ovals),
as they can be set to different values
(See page 421) and are included for all
knitting machines except the Passap
E6000 and E8000.
The weight unit has been specified as
'grams' (see red oval) in the Yarn Calcu-
lation Setup dialogue.
'Shape Only' in the printout (see light blue
arrow) refers to the yarn used for the
garment pieces for which a stitch pattern
has not been integrated, which are the
sleeves in this example. Shape Only could be the main colour of the garment as it is not specified further
(probably 'Sky' in this example), or it could be an entirely different yarn.
The Yarn names have been collected from Stitch Designer where colour names and symbols can be
defined. If a yarn has not been given a name, it will appear as "???". It is important for the colour names to
match if different stitch patterns are used for one garment, otherwise a situation as shown here will arise,
where the same yarn has been named "Sky blue" in one and "Sky" in the other stitch pattern (see red
arrows above). Even if a letter is a capital in one and lower case in the other stitch pattern, it is seen as a
different yarn.
The 'Entire neckband' (see blue rectangle) is calculated and included only when the "Calculate yarn
required for ALL pieces" is ticked. As it is adjacent to other pieces rather than a piece in its own right (as it
would be in Original Pattern Drafting) it can only be included when the entire garment is used for calcu-
lation. If a shape file includes some Original Pattern Drafting pieces, the neckband will still be calculated
and shown, provided that all the pieces that join the neckband are purely Standard Garment Styling (See
page 430), for example a jumper consisting of two sleeves, a back and a front piece, regardless of any
other pieces, such as a pocket, that may be in the file.

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All yarns for all pieces are summarized in

the example above because "Calculate
yarn required for ALL pieces" was ticked.
If this box is left unticked, a printout will
be generated for every piece that is
ticked in the "Print Pattern Pieces"
dialogue and each piece name will be
shown at the top of the printout, with a
stitch pattern name if one has been integ-
rated, as shown on the left. The top is the
'BACK' piece and the bottom is 'SLEEVE
- RIGHT'. The top contains a stitch
pattern and the bottom is Shape-only
(see red arrows).
The 'BACK' piece with stitch pattern
shows all the colours that are used in that
particular piece as can be seen when
comparing the image to the one above.
Leaf green is a colour that is used in the
front pieces (see small image above) and
does not appear in the "budgies small"
stitch pattern, while none of the "budgies
small" colours except 'Sky', which has
been named 'Sky' in one and 'Sky blue' in
the other pattern, is used in the front
pieces. The 'SLEEVE - RIGHT' piece
shows only one unnamed (Shape Only)
yarn as it is not integrated with a stitch
pattern.
Ribs and cuffs usually belong with one garment piece and as such they are printed in the "Estimates for rib"
section (see blue arrows) for that piece. The Neckband is attached to more than one garment piece and is
therefore only present in the printout if the "Calculate yarn required for ALL pieces" is ticked as shown in
the example above.

Garment picture & Stitch pat picture

The Garment picture option is available if all selected pieces have an integrated stitch pattern, otherwise it
is greyed out. The same setup screen is shown when Print / Stitch pat picture is accessed from Stitch
Designer, with the exception that "Setup for Stitch pat picture" is displayed in the title bar instead of "Setup
for Garment picture" (see red arrow).
This Setup dialogue is identical to the Options screen for "Shaping as X's" (See on page 373) with the
exception of the appearance of "Stitch Representation" (see blue rectangle) and "Stitch Colour" (see red
rectangle). Where possible, page references have been provided to avoid duplicating information. The
options can be set to different values for different print formats and are remembered.

The resulting previews and prints are also dependent on the chosen Method of Knitting.

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○ Scaling - "Fit to a page" or "% of actual size" can be experimented with for the most optimal display
on the print page (See page 374).
○ Stitch Aspect Ratio - selecting "True" returns a shape based on the tensions set while selecting
"Square" supposes each stitch to be a square (See page 374).
○ Main Grid Thickness and Grid Divisions - are set to the size that is specified in Stitch Designer
(See page 374).
○ Colour Demarcation Thickness (See page 374) - only makes a difference to pieces with a stitch
pattern and can be very useful in combination with choosing "Stitch Colour" White or Grey.

○ Stitch Colour - stitches can be represented as colour,

white or grey. If a stitch pattern has been applied to the
piece this will be shown in the preview if colour is
chosen, as shown in the examples on the right. A
Colour Demarcation of "1" was chosen for both
examples, in which "Colour" was chosen for the
leftmost and "White" for the rightmost image.

○ Stitch Representation - the representation of the actual

stitches can be 'Plain' which will display the pattern in a
simple grid view, while selecting either of the 'Stitch texture'
options will superimpose fabric texture. 'Plain' and 'Stitch
texture (black)' can be combined with all three Stitch Colour
options. 'Stitch texture (white)' can only be combined with
'Colour' or 'Grey' and if there is white yarn in the stitch
pattern, this will then be displayed as light grey stitches.
"Stitch Colour" was set to 'Colour' for three of the examples
on the right. 'Plain', 'Stitch texture (black)' and 'Stitch
texture (white)' are shown clockwise from the top. The
bottom left picture was achieved by setting the Stitch
Colour to grey and the texture to 'Plain'.

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The examples below show the results for Stocking stitch, Reverse Stocking stitch, Garter stitch (K)
and Garter stitch (P) respectively while "Stitch representation" is selected as 'Stitch texture (black)'.

○ Stitch Numbering - can be set to different conventions (See page 375).

○ Miscellaneous - "Row numbering" can be switched on or off as wanted and the piece can be printed
inverted (See page 375). The "Inverted left to right" option is turned off and disabled for Garment
Picture hand knit patterns because the inverted chart will not match the knitting instructions in the
Pattern Text or Garment Text printout.

Garment symbols & Stitch pat symbols

The Garment symbols option is only available if all selected pieces have an integrated stitch pattern. The
same setup screen is shown when Print / Stitch pat symbols is accessed from Stitch Designer, with the
exception that "Setup for Stitch pat symbols" is displayed in the title bar (see red arrow below).
This screen is identical to the Garment picture & Stitch pat picture (See page 387) Setup screen with the
exception of the appearance of Stitch Representation, which offers the choice between "Stitch symbols"
and "Yarn colour symbols" (see red oval).

Explanations of all other options in this dialogue can be found in Shaping as X's (See page 373) and / or
Garment picture & Stitch pat picture (See page 387), so only the two options that are different have been
explained below.

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The two leftmost images

are based on the stitch
pattern shown here, of
which one repeat has been
shown.
The KnitWrite© symbols are
displayed when selecting
'Stitch symbols'. Knit, Purl and Tuck are used in
this example, which is a small part of the entire
garment piece printout. The Garment Symbols print
shows repeats and different positioning of the stitch
pattern, based on its integration with a garment
piece. Both images show 'Stitch symbols', while 'Colour' was selected for the leftmost and 'Grey' for the
rightmost in the "Stitch Colour" section.
The larger the percentage of the printout (see blue arrow above), the clearer the symbols will be on the
screen, at the expense of seeing the pattern in its entirety. If the option is chosen to fit to a page, the entire
garment piece will be shown and the symbols may be very small. More information about designing stitch
patterns can be found in the Stitch Designer manual.

Selecting 'Yarn colour symbols' in the "Stitch

Representation" dialogue, in combination with the
'Colour' option in Stitch colour results in the colours
of the stitch pattern being displayed as shown in the
leftmost image. The Yarn symbols, as they have
been defined in Stitch Designer are superimposed
on the colours.
Selecting 'Grey' in the options results in the second
image where only the Yarn symbols are shown
against a grey background. Purple was assigned a
Yarn symbol in this example and red was not. If no
Yarn symbols had been assigned at all, this printout
would only show grey stitches.

Integrated template

Fair Isle 394

Intarsia 396
Jacquard 396
Right & Wrong side facing texture 398
Lace templates 399

Punch card and reader sheet templates can be produced to be used with punch card and other knitting
machines (such as Brother KH950i, Silver Reed SK840) that can work with reader sheets (such as Mylar).
When a punch card or reader sheet is fed into an appropriate knitting machine, the stitch pattern that is
punched out or shaded in is produced. DesignaKnit can make exact size templates for punch cards and
reader sheets for Passap E6000 and Brother KH950i knitting machines.
Punch card generator - there is a possibility to generate an .svg file in order to cut punch cards by
accessing this website (https://brendaabell.com/knittingtools/pcgenerator/) in which a DieCut.txt file can be

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input. This file is generated in the Documents/ DesignaKnit 9 folder every time a stitch pattern is printed (or
print previewed) in the Stitch Template or Garment Template format. The punch card generator turns the
DieCut.txt file into an .svg file, which can subsequently be used to cut punch cards. Further instructions are
on the site. The DieCut.txt file represents selecting needles as X’s against a background of dashes. It is
overwritten by each print or print preview, and works for any machine knitting method including lace and
separated Jacquard.
Template printing options are only available if a suitable knitting machine has been selected and certain
rules have been observed in the design of the stitch pattern (See page 391). The "Integrated template"
option is also greyed out if any of the selected (ticked) garment pieces does not have a stitch pattern associ-
ated with it or if the method of knitting is hand knit.

Integrated stitch patterns are printed in such a way that the centre of the garment piece is at the centre
of the needle bed, while the stitch pattern is shuffled to accommodate this. Stitch patterns that are not
associated with a garment piece are unintegrated and their templates are printed in such a way that
the centre of the stitch pattern will be positioned at the centre of the needle bed.

Integrated templates ensure that the work will be positioned correctly on the needle bed at the time of
knitting. They can be printed by using the File / Print / Integrated template menu option in Original Pattern
Drafting and Standard Garment Styling or the Shapes / Print Shapes / Integrated template in Stitch
Designer and have been described in this chapter.
Unintegrated templates can be printed by using the File / Print / Stitch pat template option in Stitch
Designer and have been described separately in the Stitch Designer manual.
Although Standard Garment Styling does not have a possibility to use stitch patterns directly, they can be
applied to the garment pieces by using Stitch Designer, after which "Integrated template" becomes avail-
able in the Standard Garment Styling Print menu, provided a suitable knitting machine has been chosen.
Rules for stitch pattern templates
There are certain rules that need to be taken into account when producing stitch pattern templates in Desig-
naKnit, whether they are integrated or not.
○ The width of a stitch pattern has to fit into the width of a punch card an exact number of times. If the
punch card has a width of 60, the pattern can have a width of any whole number that 60 is divisible
by. For example 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 60 stitches. As the full width of a punch card must be used, the
necessary number of horizontal repeats will be calculated and printed by DesignaKnit.
○ Electronic knitting machines that handle Mylar or other reader sheets are more flexible than punch
card machines and do not have the requirement for a stitch pattern to fit a whole number of times.
Only one horizontal and vertical repeat is printed on the template and all necessary repeating is
handled by the memory of the knitting machine. Whether a knitting machine is 'Electronic' can be
seen when accessing its Setup, then clicking the "Advanced" button.
○ The number of vertical stitch pattern repeats that is needed for a punch card depends on the length
the card needs to be in order to loop around the feeding mechanism comfortably. With a pattern that
consists of only a few rows, quite a few number of vertical repeats may be needed. The number of
punched rows must be at least a little more than half of the total number of rows on a blank punch
card. I.e., if a punch card has 60 rows, and the stitch pattern 12, it will be repeated 3 times vertically,
resulting in 36 rows - a little over 30. There are no lower limits to the size of the marked area for
electronic machines.
○ Intarsia templates can only be created when the AG50 Intarsia carriage is used. The template will
print multiple rows for each colour that is used and the user is advised to consult the knitting machine
instructions to interpret the charts.

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○ Memo symbols cannot be used to produce templates as they do not produce needle selections. The
symbols may print if they happen to be on selecting stitches.
○ Punch card and reader template printouts are automatically flipped for all methods except Right Side
facing texture because the fabric facing the knitter is the wrong side for all other methods.
○ If a template is produced for a pattern that is drawn or contains sections that are drawn with the Lace
tool (See on page 331) it will be marked with a Lace symbol, stitch marking or asterisk on each row
that contains Lace symbols, depending on the options chosen in the setup of the stitch pattern
template (See page 392). The symbol appears on the first stitch that contains the symbol. Yarn
Symbols, Memo numbers and selecting "Colour" instead of "Black" are all ignored in the template
printout for all rows that contain Lace symbols.

The cells that are marked by a stitch symbol, yarn colour symbol, stitch marking (1, 2 or 3) or "*"
represent selecting needles and these blocks will need to be punched out or shaded in on the punch
card or reader sheet.

If a selected stitch pattern cannot be used with

the chosen knitting machine because it will not
fit within the limits of the punch card or Mylar
sheet, DesignaKnit will display a warning such
as the one shown on the right. After clicking
"OK" the stitch pattern can be adjusted if
required and the action repeated.

Setup Stitch pattern template

On accessing the print option for stitch pattern templates, the single spanner button can be clicked to select
different options in the "Setup for Stitch pattern templates" dialogue, as shown below.

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A stitch pattern can consist of yarn colours and stitch symbols

and, depending on the method of knitting (Fair Isle, Jacquard
etc.), different options will be available. The clearest and
most commonly used combination is shown on the left. While
these options will suffice for most users, pattern publishers
may find other combinations useful.
Stitch markings 1, 2 or 3 can be selected to show selecting
and deselecting needles in one of three formats, where
option 1 fills the selecting needle grid squares completely,
option 2 fills the grid squares just shy of the edges and option
3 fills the grid cells with circles.
Stitch symbols will mark the template with any symbols that
may have been used in the stitch pattern. The option to
display stitch symbols is available only if the stitch pattern is
Fair Isle or Right / Wrong side facing texture methods and
contains symbols. The stitch symbols will be displayed
against a white background if "Black" has been chosen and
against colours of the stitch pattern if "Colour" has been
chosen.
As Jacquard is purely a colour technique, a template will
show needle selections for colours, regardless of any
symbols that might be placed on the stitch pattern. If a Fair
Isle or Right / Wrong side facing texture methods stitch
pattern contains both colour and texture symbols in the same row, the Smart symbol takes precedence and
the selection state of the colour in those rows is ignored.
Yarn colour symbols shows the Yarn symbols, if these have been assigned, on grid cells that are
selecting. If "Black" is chosen they will be displayed against a white background in the entire stitch pattern.
If "Colour" is chosen, the selecting grid cells will display colour in the background. Yarn symbols are set up
in Stitch Designer to assign symbols to the different colours used in the stitch pattern. If a colour has not
been assigned a Yarn symbol, an asterisk is used to mark the template instead. Yarn Colour symbols are
not displayed for stitches that are transferred using the Lace Tool. There may be areas of Lace in a Fair Isle
pattern and, while the Fair Isle areas will show the Yarn colour symbol, the areas of Lace show an "*" for
the selecting stitches.
Colour and Black can be combined with any of the stitch markings. While "Black" marks selecting and
deselecting grid cells as black and white respectively, "Colour" will print the colours of the stitch pattern in
the background of selecting grid cells, leaving deselecting grid cells white. The latter can make it easier to
see where in the template selecting and deselecting takes place. However, on rows with deselecting Smart
Symbols (Tuck, slip, weave under) all other stitches, regardless of colour, become selecting, which can be
confusing. The "Colour" option can be very useful if there are no Smart Symbols in the stitch pattern. It will
not produce colour in a pattern that is drawn by using the Lace Tool.
Either option will present the deselecting stitches as white. Selecting stitches in the same row are
presented as black or coloured, depending on whether "Black" or "Colour" is ticked. E.g., if there are Tuck
stitches (deselecting) in a row, they will show as white, and all other stitches will be marked black or
coloured. If there are Thread lace symbols (selecting), these will show up as black or coloured while all
other symbols in that row will be white.

Selecting a "Main Grid - Thickness" of 1 is recommended for ease of viewing.

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Row numbering can be switched on or off and will result in the row numbers appearing at the left hand
side of the print. There is only one row per pass of the carriage for Fair Isle and Right / Wrong side facing
texture methods so each stitch pattern row is represented by 1 template row.

Jacquard, on the other hand, requires

multiple passes of the carriage for each
row of finished fabric, which makes
switching on row numbering particularly
useful as it shows how each pair of rows is
separated into its component colours, as
demonstrated here.
If a Colour Changer has been configured
to 'on' and the stitch template or integrated template is printed with row numbers, the printout will show the
Colour Changer feeder number or letter (See on page 492) instead of the Jacquard yarn sequence
number. This is demonstrated in the images above, where the first image is of a Jacquard pattern where
the Colour Changer is not in use. The Jacquard yarn sequence numbers (J1, J2, J3) are shown. The
second and third image are of a Brother and Silver Reed Punch card knitting machine template respect-
ively, where the Colour Changer positions are shown as numbers (Brother) and letters (Silver Reed).
Invert needle selection for Fair Isle sections can be selected if the number of grid cells to be selected
(punched out or shaded in) is significantly greater than the number that is deselected. The holes in a punch
card represent selecting needles. In DesignaKnit the white spaces on a template represent deselecting
needles, so anything that is other than white needs to be punched out or shaded in on the actual punch
card or reader sheet. If the option to "Invert needle selection for Fair Isle sections" is ticked, the 'Pattern
Invert' or 'Negative' switch of the knitting machine also needs to be set. The Invert state needs to be the
same in DesignaKnit and the knitting machine.

Selecting "Invert needle selection for Fair Isle sections"

appears to result in a 'negative' image. However, Invert
applies only to the Fair Isle rows of the stitch pattern. If a
Colour Changer is set in the knitting machine set up in
Options / Method of Knitting and it conflicts, DesignaKnit will
present the option shown on the left.
Some examples have been given below by method of knitting, to demonstrate the various print results.

Fair Isle
A small Fair Isle pattern was used and integrated with two different garment pieces to demonstrate how the
stitch pattern is shuffled, according to its position on the garment piece.

The first image on the left shows

the Fair Isle stitch pattern that is
used for these examples.
The integrated template print
options that were used to
produce the templates of images
(2) and (3) are: Stitch marking 1,
Black, Main Grid thickness 1 and
Row numbering.
One of the colours is selecting
and the other deselecting,

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resulting in black (selecting) and white (deselecting) grid cells. The black grid cells need to be punched out
for punch cards, or shaded in for reader sheets.
Images (2) and (3) show how an integrated stitch pattern can shift, depending on its position on the
garment piece. The red arrows indicate the position of the centre of the stitch pattern as it is designed in
Stitch Designer. At download, the integrated stitch pattern is shuffled as necessary to be positioned
correctly on the needle bed (See on page 455).

The three images above are of the same stitch pattern.

Image (1) is the stitch pattern as it is designed on the Stitch
Designer workspace, while images (2) and (3) result from
printing an integrated template of two different garment
pieces.
The text on the left illustrates the different characteristics of
the printouts and the images above show how the identical
stitch pattern is shuffled horizontally and vertically in order
for each garment piece to be positioned correctly at the
centre of the needle bed.
Template prints for electronic machines that use Mylar or other reader sheets are of one vertical single
repeat of a stitch pattern and as many horizontal repeats as are necessary to fill the selected punch card
(See on page 391), whether they are printed from the File / Print / Stitch pat template or Shapes / Print
Shapes / Integrated template menu option in Stitch Designer or from File / Print / Integrated template in
Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment Styling.

Although Fair Isle is mainly used as a colour technique, it is possible to use

Smart and other stitch symbols in order to create texture. The effect of adding
stitch symbols to the stitch pattern is demonstrated below.
The palette was set as shown on the left and includes the two colours used for
the Fair Isle pattern as well as a few Smart Symbols and one memo symbol.
Dark blue and Weave over are selecting, while light blue, Tuck and Weave
under are deselecting, as can be seen by the state of the needle in the bottom
right hand side of each symbol. The double decrease symbol has no needle
selection and has no influence on the template. It is merely present in this
example to show its lack of effect on the template printouts.
The stitch pattern is shown in an unintegrated state so that a number of marked places in it can be followed
more easily to clearly show the effects of the different template options.

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Image (1) depicts the Fair Isle stitch pattern as it is designed on the DesignaKnit workspace. The next three
images are different Template prints, based on different settings. The template prints are all flipped
because this is necessary for the punch card or reader sheet for Fair Isle patterns. Other than rows 2, 3 and
5 where Smart Symbols are placed, the stitch pattern consists of Fair Isle rows. Two Tuck stitch combin-
ations and two Weave under symbols have been marked in red and followed in all the images. One Weave
over has been marked with a light blue arrow in all images.
Image (2) is the result of choosing stitch marking option 1, with "Black" and row numbering ticked. All grid
cells that are black need to be punched out or shaded in as the needles will be selecting in those places. As
Tuck and Weave Under stitches are deselecting, they are white in all the templates. Weave over is
selecting and therefore marked black. The presence of Smart Symbols on rows 2, 3 and 5 means that the
selection state of the colours is ignored in favour of the symbols in those rows. So, although the light blue
pattern colour is on deselecting needles in the Fair Isle section of the pattern, in rows 2, 3 and 5, all stitches
other than the deselecting Smart Symbols are shown as selecting.
Image (3) has the same settings as (2), except that the "Invert" option was ticked. This swaps the selection
state of the needles, but only on the Fair Isle rows. Rows 2, 3 and 5 that contain Smart Symbols are
identical to image (2)!
Image (4) results from the same settings as image (2), except that "Colour" was chosen instead of "Black".
There are only two colours per row in Fair Isle of which one is selecting and one deselecting. The "Colour"
option shows colour on selecting grid cells only, while the deselecting colour is presented by white grid
cells. As there are deselecting Smart Symbols on rows 2, 3 and 5, all other grid cells have become
selecting. Therefore these rows show both colours. All grid cells that are not white need to be punched out
or shaded in as the needles need to be selecting in those places.

The most useful template prints for Fair Isle patterns are "Stitch markings" 1, 2 or 3, with or without the
Invert option ticked.

Intarsia

Intarsia templates can only be produced when the

Silver Reed with AG50 carriage is selected. For all
other knitting machines, the incompatibility message
shown on the right will appear.
Although templates can be printed, as the AG50 can be connected through a cable link, it is unlikely to be
of added benefit.

Jacquard
A two colour, 12 stitch wide Jacquard pattern was used in this example with separation method B. The
same garment piece was used and positioned differently over the stitch pattern in Stitch Designer to
demonstrate how the integrated stitch pattern is shuffled. The centre of the garment piece, rather than the
centre of the stitch pattern, is positioned on the centre of the needle bed at the time of knitting.
The stitch pattern has an even number of rows, as required for Jacquard, and the twelve stitches of the
snowflake pattern fit twice horizontally into the punch card (24 stitches by 60 rows) of the Brother Standard
punch card knitting machine that was chosen here.

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The first image on the left

shows the two colour
Jacquard stitch pattern as
it is displayed on the Stitch
Designer workspace.
The integrated template
print options that were
used to produce both
templates are: Stitch
marking 1, Black, Main
Grid thickness 1 and Row
numbering. As Jacquard
needle selection is based
on colours the "Stitch
symbols" option is greyed
out in the "Setup for Stitch
pattern templates"
dialogue (See page 392).
Images (2) and (3) show
one vertical stitch pattern
repeat. As the stitch pattern consists of 18 rows, the template (based on two colour Jacquard and separ-
ation method B) has 36 grid rows. As the stitch pattern has a width of 12 stitches, it fits twice into the 24
stitch wide punch card, although only 12 stitches are shown in the images above.
A point of reference has been given by the yellow and orange rectangles, which are of the same area of the
stitch pattern. It shows how each row of a stitch pattern is made up of two grid rows in the template.
The red arrow in image (1) points to the centre of the stitch pattern, which would be at the centre of the
needle bed in an unintegrated stitch pattern. As images (2) and (3) are templates of stitch patterns that are
integrated with two different garment pieces, the centre of the stitch pattern ends up elsewhere on the
template to ensure the garment piece and not the stitch pattern is centralised on the needle bed. The red
arrows in all three images point to the same position in the stitch pattern.
Depending on whether a Colour Changer is in use, either the Jacquard yarn sequence or the Colour
Changer feeder position is shown. In image (2), the Jacquard yarn sequence is shown, as can be seen
from the preceding "J" and the Colour Changer was configured to 'on' for image (3), as can be seen by the
preceding "CC". The Jacquard separation method can be changed in Options / Method of Knitting (See on
page 352). The leftmost numbers refer to the grid rows of the template.

Depending on the position of the stitch pattern relative to the

garment piece, different grid cells need to be punched out or
shaded in. The images on the left show the template with the
'Black' and 'Colour' options. The stitch pattern was moved
down one row in the rightmost images. This results in a
reversal of the black (or coloured) and white grid cells so that
the same area of the stitch pattern is to be left untouched in the
first situation (see yellow arrows) and punched out, or shaded
in (see red arrows), in the second situation.
The same behaviour of reversal of the grid cells to be punched
out can be seen on careful inspection in the example above.

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Anything other than white on the template needs to be punched out or shaded in for punch cards and
reader sheets respectively.

Part of an integrated template is

shown on the left while View /
Yarn Symbols was ticked in
Stitch Designer.
The options for the Integrated
template in Shapes / Print
Shapes were accessed and
"Yarn colour symbols" was
selected to show the symbols as
they are set up in Palettes / Yarn
Symbols.
"Black" was chosen in the
leftmost image, and "Colour" in
the rightmost to demonstrate
how "Colour" may provide a good way of identifying a particular location in the stitch pattern.
As always, the black or coloured, and in the case of only seeing the Yarn symbols, those that are marked,
grid cells need to be punched out or shaded in for punch cards and reader sheets respectively, so they can
be fed through the appropriate knitting machine to produce the required stitch pattern. If colours in the
pattern have not been allocated any Yarn symbols, they will show up as "*" in order to prevent mistakes in
punching out or shading in.

Right & Wrong side facing texture

As these methods of knitting are texture based, needle selection is based on the presence of Smart
Symbols, while colours are ignored.
The Right side facing texture method will print templates as they are on the DesignaKnit workspace while
Wrong side facing texture will flip the pattern.

A Wrong side facing

texture stitch pattern
was used with
several Smart
Symbols and
colours. It was integ-
rated with two
different garment
pieces to demon-
strate how the integ-
rated stitch pattern
is shuffled so that
the centre of the garment piece, and not the stitch pattern, is positioned at the centre of the needle bed.
Image (1) shows the stitch pattern as it is designed on the workspace, while images (2) and (3) are integ-
rated template prints. Only one pattern repeat is shown in these examples although, if a punch card
machine is used, more than one repeat may be printed, depending on the size of the stitch pattern and the
punch card (See on page 391).

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The centre of the stitch pattern is indicated by the red arrows in all images. For demonstration purposes, a
deselecting Tuck symbol was placed in the first row of the stitch pattern to easily locate the same position in
the integrated template prints.
The most useful template options for Right / Wrong side facing texture methods are Stitch marking 1 and
"Black". This combination shows the selecting state of the needles most clearly. Using the "Colour" option
shows which yarn colours are used in which positions.

An example of a
Wrong side facing
texture stitch
pattern is shown
on the left to
demonstrate how
Smart Symbols
influence selecting
and deselecting.
Image (1) is the
grid view that is shown on the workspace. Images (2) and (3) are template views, using stitch markings
option 1 with "Black" and "Colour" subsequently. As it is a Wrong side facing texture, the template views
are flipped horizontally. The Right side facing texture would show the template in the same way as on the
workspace.
Colours are completely ignored in the needle selection. Only the Smart Symbols will result in black or
coloured markings. Both Tuck (red ovals) and Slip (red arrows) symbols deselect and these stitch cells are
white, while the Weave over symbol (yellow ovals) selects, resulting in black or coloured grid cells. All other
stitches in rows where Smart Symbols occur are in the opposite state. On a row containing Tuck or Slip
(deselecting) stitches, all other grid cells are black or coloured. On a row containing (selecting) Weave over
stitches, all other grid cells are white. From the bottom up, rows without Smart Symbols continue in the
state that is dominant in the previous row. E.g., row 1 contains one deselecting Tuck symbol and this row is
predominantly black (selecting). The selecting state continues until the next Smart Symbols are
encountered in row 4 and 5. Selecting (black) grid cells are still in the majority and this continues until the
Weave over (selecting, black) Smart symbol is encountered on rows 8 and 9. The deselecting, white grid
cells are now in the majority and the pattern continues upward in a deselecting state until the next Smart
symbol, where it switches again.
The black or coloured (selecting) grid cells need to be punched out or shaded in for punch cards or reader
sheets.
If both light blue and purple are opaque, printing the template will generate a warning message for rows 11
and 12 as there can only be one opaque colour per row, if purple is transparent it will not. In either case the
transparency setting of the colours is ignored as far as needle selection is concerned. At the Interactive
Knitting stage, if the transparency is not corrected, the colour that is secondary will be ignored in favour of
the main colour for these two rows, which means that in this case, light blue will be used.

Right / Wrong side facing texture methods stitch patterns can have only one Opaque colour in each row.

Lace templates
Punch card or Mylar sheet template prints will not resemble the lace pattern on the workspace because
template prints map the transfer rows that are required to knit the pattern, which are likely to be in excess of
the Stitch Designer pattern rows.

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For patterns that contain Lace sections or are wholly designed as lace, any other
colours or stitch symbols that may be incorporated in the lace rows are ignored.
Only stitch markings 1, 2 or 3 can be used. "Colour" may be chosen in the
template setup, but is only shown for sections that do not contain lace symbols.
The example on the left is a lace pattern in one colour as it is shown on the Stitch
Designer workspace. The Lace tool was used to produce this 12 stitches by 30
rows pattern, to fit a punch card or reader sheet. The Stitch Designer Check
option was used to make sure that the pattern is free of errors.
It is important to realise that the stitches need to be transferred to the correct
positions before a row can be knitted, in order for each eyelet to appear at its
intended location. As stitches can only move one position at each pass of the
carriage, several passes may be required before yarn is actually knitted. There-
fore the template (see below) will show multiple rows for each row of the stitch
pattern that is depicted on the left. The exception to this is when Silver Reed
simple lace is used, in which transfer and knit happen in the same pass of the
carriage, so the template will show the same number of rows as the stitch pattern.
Templates for Punch card machines will fill the width of the card and at as many
vertical repeats as are necessary to fill the card, while templates for electronic machines with reader facil-
ities will produce a template of one stitch pattern repeat (See also Rules for stitch pattern templates on
page 391).

Whether the pattern is Right or Wrong side facing texture, it will be presented in the same way on the
Stitch Designer workspace as this shows the finished pattern. The template prints for punch card or
reader sheet will be the same as the stitch pattern on the workspace for Right side and inverted for
Wrong side methods.

The example on the left shows one lace

row of a Wrong side facing texture lace
pattern as it appears on the Stitch
Designer workspace. The template print
for a Silver Reed knitting machine is
shown to its right. The same two rows of
the pattern are surrounded by a rounded
blue rectangle in stitch pattern and
template print.
The template is inverted because the method is Wrong side facing texture, so that stitch 1 is on the left in
the stitch pattern and on the right in the template printout. The first row is knitted from left to right in normal
knitting mode. The carriage is then set to transfer only and stitch 5 is placed onto stitch 6 in the second
pass of the carriage (see red arrows in the images), leaving needle 5 empty. While pushing the carriage to
the other side, stitch 4 is transferred to the now empty needle 5. Two more of these movements place two
more stitches to their right on empty needles (see pink arrows in the image). For the final pass, the carriage
needs to be set to Transfer + knit and stitch 2 will be transferred to needle 3, knitting at the same time and
thus creating the eyelet. The necessary carriage passes and switching between Transfer and Transfer +
knit mode can easily be seen in the Interactive Knitting "Countdown + Shaping Instructions" window.

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Brother knitting machines use a separate lace carriage to work the transfer rows while the normal
carriage knits. Silver Reed uses a lace carriage to transfer and transfer + knit by selecting the appro-
priate mode on the carriage. Brother and Toyota preselect. All these different scenarios are handled by
DesignaKnit so the user just needs to design the lace pattern.

The example below illustrates how the lace template is to be interpreted for a Silver Reed electronic
knitting machine (SK840) with a Right side facing texture pattern. The same area of stitch pattern has
been marked in blue rounded rectangles to show the difference in presentation on the Stitch Designer
workspace which shows the pattern as it will be after knitting (top), and the template (bottom) which shows
the passes of the carriage that are needed to produce the pattern.

The template shows how 8 passes of the carriage are required to

produce the first 4 rows of the pattern as it appears on the Stitch
Designer workspace that are shown on the left. The resulting
template rows that are shown are as follows:
Row 1 (LC) - uses the Transfer + knit (LC) setting of the Lace
carriage to knit all the stitches across.

Row 2 (LCT) - uses the Transfer

only (LCT) setting of the Lace
carriage and transfers stitch 5 on
top of stitch 6 (see red arrows),
leaving needle 5 empty. The image
immediately to the left shows what
the carriage is doing. The decrease
symbol at the start of the transfer sequence (see red circle) is not marked on the template. The long red
arrow in the leftmost image points out the position of the first 'decrease' of the Stitch Designer workspace in
the template. This the position where 2 stitches are placed on the same needle, while the black marking to
its left is the then empty needle.
Row 3 (LCT) - takes the carriage back to its correct side in Transfer only mode.
Rows 4 to 7 (LCT) - are repeats of the second and third template rows. The pink arrows point out that
stitch 4 is transferred to where 5 was, stitch 3 to where 4 was.
Row 8 (LC) - the carriage has to be switched to Knit + Transfer mode (LC) and will transfer stitch 2 to
where 3 was, creating the eyelet as the row is knitted in the same pass of the carriage. This completes the
current lace sequence of finished fabric row 2. The position of the eyelet in the Stitch Designer workspace
now matches the position of the marking in the template (see blue arrow).
Brother and Toyota - when a template row is preceded by the "LC" label, the markings on this row indicate
the needles that will be preselected at this pass by the lace carriage. They do not show the needles that
have already been preselected and transferred. The final pass of the lace carriage selects needles for any
Fair Isle colour pattern that may be present in the same physical row as the lace transfers.
Brother and Silver Reed examples have been worked out below for (part of) the same pattern without and
with integration with a garment piece, because their lace templates show different elements. Integration
has the additional effect of the eyelets and transfers being in a different place in relation to the needle bed
when the pattern is being knitted. This can make it difficult to pinpoint the exact location of specific eyelets
in the template.
Only one horizontal repeat has been shown although the print will produce as many repeats as necessary
to fill the punch card if a punch card knitting machine has been selected. Other electronic machines with

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punch card capabilities (See page 347), such as Silver Reed 840, 550 or Brother KH910 will only produce
templates for one repeat of the stitch pattern.
Although a Wrong side facing method will generally be used, it is easier to see how the stitch pattern is
reflected in the template for the Right side facing texture method, which is why this has been chosen in
these examples.

Silver Reed knitting

machines use a
separate Lace carriage
which can be set to
transfer (LCT) or knit
(LC). Both transfer and
knit rows are shown for
Silver Reed punch card
and electronic
machines with punch
card capabilities, so
that the row numbering
is always sequential.
Stitch marking "3",
"Colour", Grid thickness of 1 and Row numbering were chosen as template settings. The leftmost image is
of the unintegrated stitch pattern and the rightmost shows that the pattern moves in relation to the needle
bed when it is integrated with a garment piece. As well as being in a different place horizontally, the pattern
starts in a different vertical place, so that main and transfer passes are now on different rows.
The first eyelet in the unintegrated pattern is indicated by a red circle in both images. This eyelet is in a
different horizontal as well as vertical position for the integrated template and the relevant portion of the
template, with different row numbers and the marked eyelet, has been shown in the rightmost image.

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Brother knitting
machines use a separate
Lace carriage to transfer
the stitches while the
main carriage knits the
yarn after all transfers
have taken place.
Only the rows that deal
with the transfers are
shown for punch card
knitting machines,
omitting the rows where
yarn is actually knitted by
the main carriage. The
row numbering is not
consecutive, as can be
seen in the top two
images on the left, in
which the standard
Brother Punch card
machine has been
selected. The passes
marked with LC (which
for punch card machines
is all of them) show the
needles that are being
selected by the lace
carriage.
When a Brother electronic knitting machine is selected to produce template prints, both transfer (LC) and
knit (blank) rows are shown and the row numbering is consecutive, as shown in the lower two images.
The necessary switching between the main and lace carriages is indicated in the Interactive Knitting
"Countdown + Shaping Instructions" window. The main carriage is shown as white and the lace carriage as
pink (for normal Lace transfers) or blue (for Fine Lace transfers) in its "Piece Overview" window.
Both leftmost images show the first few template rows of the unintegrated stitch pattern. The rightmost
images show the same part of the template for an integrated pattern. The position of the first eyelet has
been marked by a red circle in all four examples. As the stitch pattern is positioned differently in relation to
the needle bed for integrated stitch patterns the first eyelet usually appears in different places both horizont-
ally and vertically, as shown in these examples.
More information about knitting lace on the different knitting machines can be found in Lace on specific
machines (See page 333).

Integrated changes
This option is available when only pieces with a stitch pattern are selected to be viewed or printed. Even if
one of these selected pieces does not have a stitch pattern associated with it this option is greyed out.

It is not always possible to use this option. Some combinations of knitting machine, method of knitting
and stitch texture pattern are not suitable for this option and error messages such as the ones shown on
the right can appear.

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Printing Shapes (Complete)

The "Integrated changes" printout indicates at what

row numbers a different coloured yarn enters the
piece. There may be a lot of different colours used in
a Fair Isle stitch pattern, but only 2 colours per row.
Whenever a different colour enters the pattern this
classifies as a colour change. As long as the same
two colours are used, albeit in different stitch combin-
ations, there is no mention of a change.

The rosy.stp stitch pattern (3 colour Jacquard) shown on the left has been
used in a garment piece and an integrated changes printout has been
made.
Each colour change mentioned in the print below has been pointed out by a
white arrow in the image on the left. Row 1 starts with three colours. In row 8
green is substituted by turquoise, in row 11 bottle is substituted by cerise, in
row 33 two colours are substituted etc.
Although the stitch pattern consists of seven colours in total there are only
ever a maximum of three in any one row to conform to the conventions of 3-
colour Jacquard.

Depending on whether "Single

repeat of stitch pattern" or "Full
length of pattern piece" is
selected in the setup box which
is accessed by clicking on the
single spanner, the printout will
consist of only one repeat, or
incorporate all of them,
numbering each row both for its
row number in the piece as for the repeat row (see red rectangles on image below). In this example row 1 of
the stitch pattern is repeated for every instance after the first one as there are two colours that need to be
changed at that point. As this is a Jacquard pattern, the numbers of the colours refer to the feeder they are
assigned to or the order in which they enter the pattern. If a colour has not been assigned a name, it will be
represented by "???" in the printout (see red oval).

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 Printing Shapes (Complete)

When using Interactive Knitting, alerts can be set for these changes to facilitate the process of changing
yarns.

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Using DesignaKnit (Complete)

Using DesignaKnit
Keyboard short cuts 406
Workspace Colours 408
File types 409
Folders and Paths 410
Rename files 412
Accessing Help 412
Good Practice 417

This chapter contains a variety of subjects to help use the DesignaKnit program to its fullest extent and as
smoothly as possible.

Keyboard short cuts

Many buttons and menu options can also be achieved through keyboard short-cuts. The following tables
list all the options. The first table contains all the short cuts that are common to all the sections of Desig-
naKnit, the second (if available) those specific to this section of DesignaKnit.
If the (laptop) keyboard is configured to use alternative functions (such as brightness, volume etc.) the "Fn"
key needs to be used together with the required F-key to provide the desired result. I.e., if "F2" does not
work, "Fn-F2" will.
General keyboard short-cuts

Button Menu Option Short-cut Remarks

Displays a warning that changes made in Original

Standard
F5 Pattern Drafting will be lost if it is switched to from
Garment Styling
an Original Pattern Drafting piece
Original Pattern
F6
Drafting

Stitch Designer F7

Interactive Has to be exited before the other options become

F8
Knitting available again
DesignaKnit Has to be exited, which opens Stitch Designer,
F9
Graphics Studio before other options become available again

Edit / Redo... Ctrl-Y The menu option specifies the action last taken

Edit / Undo... Ctrl-Z The menu option specifies the action last taken

In Original Pattern Drafting this refers to points, in

Edit / Cut Ctrl-X
Stitch Designer to a selection on the workspace

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 Using DesignaKnit (Complete)

Button Menu Option Short-cut Remarks

Edit / Copy Ctrl-C Copies a selected area

Pastes a previously Cut or Copied selection in

Edit / Paste Ctrl-V Original Pattern Drafting, Stitch Designer and
DesignaKnit Graphics Studio
In Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment
File / New Ctrl-N Styling this refers to shape files, in Stitch Designer
to pattern files
Opens Shapes or Stitch Patterns folder in normal
File / Open Ctrl-O
Windows view
Accesses the available Print options in Original
File / Print Ctrl-P Pattern Drafting, Standard Garment Styling and
Stitch Designer
Saves file without further prompting unless it has
File / Save Ctrl-S not been named yet. In Original Pattern Drafting
"Shift-F12" can also be used
Opens Shapes or Stitch Patterns folder in thumb-
File / Thumb-
Ctrl-T nails view. In Original Pattern Drafting "F12" can
nails
also be used
The Tab key moves the focus from one entry to the
next in dialogues. Sometimes it selects and
Tab
highlights the existing entry, sometimes it just
places the cursor in the entry
Holding the Shift key while pressing the Tab key
Shift-Tab
moves backwards through entries in the dialogues

Keyboard short-cuts specific to Stitch Designer

Button Menu Option Short-cut Remarks

View / Yarn Displays the Method of Knitting dialogue before

Numbers & F2 showing the Yarn Numbers & Feeders to the left of
Feeders the pattern. This button can be toggled
View / Yarn
Toggles the display of Yarn Numbers & Feeders,
Numbers & F3
without asking for the method of knitting
Feeders
toggles between no selection box, untagged box,
F4
and tagged box

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Using DesignaKnit (Complete)

Button Menu Option Short-cut Remarks

Selects the entire stitch pattern and surrounds it by

an untagged or tagged selection box if only part of it
Ctrl-A
was selected or if no selection box was active
respectively
File / New from Start a stitch pattern with the DesignaKnit default
Ctrl-D
Default size and palette
File / New Start a stitch pattern and define all the options from
Ctrl-N
Pattern setup the onset
File / New from Start a stitch pattern, using the settings from the
Ctrl-R
Current stitch pattern that is currently on the workspace
Swaps the selection status of all the colours in the
Ctrl-E
palette for the Fair Isle method of knitting
Ctrl-Shift Toggles Colour and Symbol mode
When used with drawing tools on a stitch in a
Ctrl-LMB pattern, this picks up the colour or symbol of the
stitch and assigns the Left (or Right) mouse button
Ctrl-RMB to it, after which clicking the LMB (or RMB)
elsewhere in the pattern will apply this selection
Adds a new stitch cable when pressed in the Cables
Alt-N
Organizer dialogue
Inserts row or column pattern of the row or stitch that
Shift- has been selected instead of filling the added area
with the RMB colour

Workspace Colours
DesignaKnit uses colours as visual indicators, as listed in the table below.

Colour Where Explanation

Originally created in Original Pattern Drafting, or created

Background of thumb-
Light blue in Standard Garment Styling and at least one of the
nails
pieces altered in Original Pattern Drafting
Background of thumb- Created in Standard Garment Styling, no alterations in
Mid blue
nails Original Pattern Drafting
Background of thumb-
Light grey Created in Original Pattern Drafting
nails
Red / Pink Cross hair cursor Position of cursor matches the line exactly
Dark Knit direction error: a picking up of previously held
Exact Stitch Layout
purple stitches happening at the start of a row

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 Using DesignaKnit (Complete)

Colour Where Explanation

Knit direction error: a cast off happening at the end of a

Pink line Exact Stitch Layout
row
Light
Exact Stitch Layout Knit direction error: a hold happening at the start of a row
purple
Knit direction error: a cast on happening at the end of a
Red line Exact Stitch Layout
row
Light green Handles Active handles
Orange Handles Marker (only shows up when Marker button is selected)
Created in Standard Garment Styling, no alterations in
Light grey Pieces
Original Pattern Drafting
Light blue Pieces Created in Original Pattern Drafting
Light grey / Created in Standard Garment Styling and altered in
Pieces
blue Original Pattern Drafting
Light green Pieces Altered with Exact Stitch Layout
White Pieces on workspace Indicates the active piece

File types
DesignaKnit has various file types that are used throughout and are applicable to different parts of the
program.
○ .shp - is used in Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment Styling to identify the shape files
that can contain different pieces to make up one piece of work, like a garment with front, back,
sleeves etc.
○ .stp & .pat - are used in Stitch Designer to identify stitch patterns that can be combined with shape
files. Newer versions of DesignaKnit use the .stp and older versions the .pat format.
○ .dat - is a file type that is used with the Silver Reed PC10. *.dat files are saved onto a specially
formatted SD card in order to transfer stitch patterns from computer to knitting machine. *.dat is
shown alongside *.stp and *.pat file types.
○ .plt - is used in Stitch Designer to identify palette files that contain colours and stitch symbols to be
used in stitch pattern files. Default palette files are provided and many user palette files may be
created additionally.
○ .csv - is used in Stitch Designer to identify symbols files that have been created or used in the
Symbols Organizer. Some can be user created and used, others are provided by DesignaKnit.
○ Graphic files - can be imported and used in Stitch Designer and DesignaKnit Graphics Studio to
expand the possibilities of designing stitch patterns. DesignaKnit can recognise a whole host of
graphic image files (*.bmp, *.ico, *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.gif, *.pcx, *.png, *.tga, *.tif, *.p?m and *.wmf) that can
be incorporated.

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Folders and Paths

When the program is installed the DesignaKnit files are located in certain locations, separated in program
files and user files. Each user account has its own "documents" folder into which the DesignaKnit 9 shapes
and stitch pattern files are placed. The program provides some shape files and a lot of stitch pattern files. In
addition to creating new files, the provided files can be copied, amended and saved into these or different
locations.

The DesignaKnit Program files are located in the appropriate

Programs folder, which, depending on the Windows version,
may have a different name to "Program Files" which is
shown in the example to the left. This folder should not be
altered in any way, as the files in it are interlinked, connected
and necessary for the correct operation of the program.
Each user account on a Microsoft Windows system has its
own folder for DesignaKnit 9 documents. The program
creates the "Shapes" and "Stitch patterns" default folders at
installation time and includes a variety of example files.

The provided Brother and Silver Reed stitch pattern folders are read-only to ensure that these knitting
machine specific stitch patterns cannot be inadvertently changed. Attempts to save any stitch patterns
in these folders will result in the "Please use a different folder to save your work in" message.

New folders can be created at the time of saving a file. Alternatively, folders can be created in Windows by
opening File Explorer, navigating to the correct location, right clicking and selecting "New Folder" from the

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 Using DesignaKnit (Complete)

menu that appears.

Clicking the "Create New Folder" button (see red circle) results in a screen similar to
the dialogue shown here. As long as the words "New Folder" are highlighted in blue, as
shown in the smaller image, a new name can be typed in and will replace the text.
If the "Enter" key is pressed or the mouse (inadvertently) clicked outside the box, the name of the folder will
be "New Folder" (see top blue arrow). Right clicking on this folder name will present a selection menu with
a number of options, depending on the Windows version and the programs that are installed. "Rename
Folder" can be selected (see bottom blue arrow). Alternatively, the "F2" key can be used to Rename, or the
folder name can be clicked on twice in succession (not double clicking) to highlight the name, which allows
renaming. The same procedure can be used to change file names.
The folder name can be very descriptive but cannot include any of the following characters: \ / : * ? " < > | as
these have specific uses in Windows.

To organise the user files efficiently, a "Tutorials" folder could be created directly underneath
the "Users \<username> \documents \DesignaKnit 9" folder into which downloaded tutorials
can be placed. Shape files could be saved in different folders based on categories like Adult,
child etc. Stitch patterns could be organised in different folders according to colour schemes,
method of knitting, motifs, trials, finished patterns etc. An "Images" folder could be created to
contain images for DesignaKnit Graphics Studio, images to be used as background pictures
etc.

Files and folders may be viewed in a variety of ways by clicking the "View Menu" button (see red arrow in
the image above). Selecting "tiles" or any of the "icons" views will display generic icons. If more detail is
needed when opening files the File / Thumbnails option can be used for shape (garment) files (See page
458), stitch patterns (See page 433) or image (graphic) files (See page 465). If a dialogue is in the way it
can be moved by clicking and holding the title bar (see light blue arrow), then dragging it to a different
position on the screen.
Whenever a file needs to be saved, whether by user action or because DesignaKnit presents a dialogue to
save, the default location as set in the specific section is presented. This location may be changed in each
section by accessing the File / Default Folder menu option. Depending on the situation, the title of the
dialogue that is opened on clicking "default folder" may vary:
○ Default folder for Shapes in Standard Garment Styling and Original Pattern Drafting
○ Default folder for Background Images in Original Pattern Drafting
○ Default folder for Stitch Patterns in Stitch Designer
○ Default folder for Graphic image files in DesignaKnit Graphics Studio
The default folder locations are used when accessing files to open or delete them, or saving new files.

It is good practice to keep all DesignaKnit user files together for easy location and backup.

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Rename files
DesignaKnit shape, stitch pattern and graphic image file names
can all easily be renamed in Windows explorer by right clicking on
them and choosing the "Rename" option, by pressing the "F2" key
while the name is highlighted or by clicking once on the file name
while it is highlighted, then typing a new name.
These changes will immediately be taken into account in Desig-
naKnit and the new file name will be available whenever the File /
Open menu option is used.
However, if files are renamed during the time that DesignaKnit is
in thumbnails view, the change is not immediately reflected
because of the way the thumbnails would have to redraw. If a file
that no longer exists because it has been renamed is clicked on
once to make it show in the preview section it will not appear.
When scrolling past the file and returning so that it shows in the
visible section, the now unused file name will appear with a yellow
warning triangle, as shown on the left and the new file name is not
available yet. The renamed file will not be visible until the thumbnails view is refreshed by a different action,
such as switching to a different folder, then back again or changing the search criteria in the file name field.

Accessing Help
Contents 414
Manual 416

There are several ways to access Help within DesignaKnit 9. As well as the options listed below, a national
distributor (see Soft Byte Ltd, https://www.softbyte.co.uk/contact.htm) can be enlisted for help, or even a
local hand or machine knitting club.
Throughout the manual:
○ Menu options have been shown in an italic format, as follows: File / Open
○ Text that is shown literally, such as in dialogues or buttons has been enclosed in quotation marks, as
follows: "OK"
○ Links that point to websites are slightly darker than links that are internal to the manual
With the introduction of each new Windows version, the appearance of dialogues has changed. All effort
has been made to be as consistent as possible, but screenshot images can be slightly different across the
different Windows versions. This has no bearing on the contents.

Most dialogues contain a Help button which will open the relevant Help chapter
at a specific place when clicked on. More general Help can also be accessed from the main DesignaKnit
screen (see red ovals). The image below depicts the Help menu. Although the image is taken from Inter-
active Knitting, the options are the same or very similar for all DesignaKnit program sections. As "Cable
Links" is only applicable to machine knitting it will not appear in the HandKnit product level, in the Stitch
Designer and Interactive Knitting sections.

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○ on the Left Toolbar navigates to the "Buttons and Menu" chapter which lists all the buttons and
menu options of the relevant program section, providing descriptions and further page references
where necessary.
○ Help / Contents on the top menu bar accesses Windows help from where navigation through
chapters or search on individual words is possible. More information can be found in Contents (See
page 414).
○ Help / Cable Links is only present in Stitch Designer and Interactive Knitting for Complete, Machine
Pro and Machine Standard product levels. Clicking this button opens a chapter where information
about Cable Links can be found, in which links to the Soft Byte Ltd website are provided.
○ Help / Manual opens the manual of the DesignaKnit section it is opened from in PDF format, which
can be printed, viewed or searched through as needed. More information can be found in Manual
(See page 416).
○ Help / Tutorials accesses the Soft Byte Ltd website from where a variety of video tutorials can be
viewed and downloaded to the local computer. Various procedures like knitting garments, designing
a stitch pattern, basic principles of Original Pattern Drafting, Interactive Knitting and many more
procedures can be viewed at leisure (See also Tutorials on page 507).
○ Help / Web Updates presents options to update the Program, Help and Manuals from the internet.
Before contacting Support it is important to ensure the latest program and help files have been
installed (See also Updates on page 418).

○ Help / Technical Support displays up a

dialogue with phone number and email
address as well as technical information
about the program which may be needed
when contacting Soft Byte Ltd. Before
contacting the Help Desk it is good practice to update the program, which can be done from this
screen, to see if the problem can be solved in this way. If not, the email link in the dialogue should be
clicked, regardless of whether it opens the local email client, because it places all relevant inform-
ation in the clipboard. This information can then be pasted into the body of the email client that is
opened, or a different email program if this is necessary or preferred. Pasting can be done by
whichever method is used in the email program or by using "Ctrl-V".

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○ Help / About displays a dialogue

like the one shown on the right. As
well as displaying the product
level, current program version and
licence number, this dialogue
provides access to Technical
Support, National (UK) Distribution
and DesignaKnit International.
These sites give access to inform-
ation about Products, Solutions,
Orders, Downloads, Training,
Support and Contact.

○ Help / Credits contains a listing of contributors to DesignaKnit 9 (See on page 510).

The Help that is provided with DesignaKnit can be viewed either in a Windows Help format or as a PDF,
depending on whether the Help / Contents or Help / Manual menu option is selected. Both have their own
formats although the content itself is the same. There are some differences in presentation and handling
that have been described below.
Each manual is specific to the section that it is accessed from, containing specific information as well as
information that is common to all sections. This means that for example, Help for Stitch Designer 'Design
Tools' is only accessible in the Contents or Manual of Stitch Designer, while Help for 'Printing Shapes' or
'Methods of Knitting' are accessible from all sections.

Email [email protected] or telephone +44 (0)1691 828556

Contents
The Help / Contents menu option opens a Help Window on top of the DesignaKnit workspace. However,
this Help file can be minimised, resized or moved so that DesignaKnit can be worked in at the same time.
The Help file opens at the "Welcome" page which shows the currently opened program section and product
level in its Title bar. The top of the Help screen itself shows only the program section, which is "Interactive
Knitting" in the example below.

As well as looking through

the "Contents" of the Help
files which lists all the
topics, both "Index" and
"Search" have been
provided to facilitate
finding the correct inform-
ation as easily as possible.
When "Contents" are
viewed, the top of the Help
file looks like the image on
the left. Clicking on "Hide"
will hide the navigation
pane where the topics are listed. The button will then read "Show", which can be clicked to show the navig-

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 Using DesignaKnit (Complete)

ation pane again. The "Back" button will step back through the visited links, including links that have been
provided in images, while the "Home" button displays the Welcome page.
If the "Back" button does not seem to behave as expected and returns to a different location than where the
cursor was, this is due to the fact that Windows returns to the last known (hyper)link location. If a user has
scrolled down on that page, Windows does not see this as a link location. I.e., a user has opened the table
with menu options and clicked a link to go to the "View" section then went on by scrolling to read further
down the page to "Options" and followed a link from there to a different page. Clicking the "Back" button will
return to "View" and not to "Options" in the menu table. The quickest way to get to the desired location can
be to click the "To top" button (See page 416) and use the links to get as near as possible.
Contents - displays all the topics within the Help Section. Clicking the "+" sign next to a topic expands it to
show the various levels underneath while clicking the "-" sign will collapse them.
Index - an index has been provided for the most commonly required keywords. Starting to type in the box
will display the Index word in the box below. Double clicking the word in the list box will jump directly to
where the most important instance of that word is located. Either single words can be entered or a search
term can be typed in, enclosed by double quotation marks. E.g., typing stitch pattern will find each
instance of stitch and pattern and highlight them separate from each other. Typing "stitch pattern" will
find the complete term.
Search - locates the word that is typed wherever it occurs, listing the topics and highlighting the specified
word in the text of each topic when it is double clicked. Once a topic has been opened the search word is
highlighted wherever it occurs and can be scrolled for, or "Ctrl-F" can be used within the topic to find the
text that is needed. Only occurrences of whole words can be found when using "Search" while "Ctrl-F" will
find any text that is entered.

Where drop down menus have been provided, the little triangles and can be clicked
on to open or close the full text. After navigating away from the drop down page, such as
would happen when a (hyper)link is followed, and using the back arrow to return to the
page, the drop down texts will have been closed, displaying their title only.

Drop down sections have to be expanded in order to find search text in them.

Some images contain links that can be clicked on to quickly access relevant information as long as the
document is viewed on the computer. This is made clear in the text close to the image, as well as the fact
that the cursor changes to a hand when hovered over the image. It can then be clicked on as a quick way of
getting to the relevant section.
Some of the images in the Contents Help files have been shrunk to thumbnail size to make for easier
reading. The images can be viewed at their full size by clicking on them, then shrunk to thumbnail by
clicking once more or pressing the Esc key. In rare cases the image does not fully fit on the screen and the
right hand side, rather than the left will show. This can be overcome by exiting the image and enlarging
DesignaKnit to full screen, or by hovering the mouse over the right hand edge until the cursor changes to a
double arrow, then clicking, holding and dragging the program window to the required size. When the
thumbnail is accessed again it will display in full.

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Occasionally a paragraph will run over an image to

its left, due to the mysteries of software. If this
happens, as shown in the top image on the left, the
underlying image, which may have links that can
be followed, is not accessible.
Resizing the program window by clicking, holding
and dragging its right side to either right or left, will
overcome the problem, as shown in the lower
image, and make all links available. Alternatively,
Contents Help may be viewed at full screen size by
clicking the "maximise" button in the top right hand
corner.

Clicking on the "Print" button displays a dialogue from

which "print the selected topic" or "print the selected
heading and all subtopics" can be chosen.
However, this is not the recommended way to print from
the Content Help files, as it includes unnecessary and
cluttering information. It is a lot easier to open the PDF
manual from Help / Manual and select the print material
from there.

A button has been provided at the bottom right hand side of the Contents Help screens to facil-
itate navigation. The quickest way to get to a desired location can be to go to the start of the current topic
and step through the links.

Manual
The Help / Manual menu option opens a PDF (Portable Document Format) version of the Help file. The
PDF may be moved, minimised or resized and can be kept open at the same time as working in Desig-
naKnit.
It is most easily viewed in Adobe Acrobat Reader, which, if not already installed, can easily be downloaded
from the internet. The look of the PDF is dependent on the version, type and settings of the installed PDF
viewer. The table of contents starts on page 2 of the manual. The bookmarks which can be displayed by
using PDF settings in the Reader relate to the various chapters, and while they may be the easiest way to
navigate through the contents, they are not a table of contents as such. An Index has been provided at the
end of the document and, if viewed on screen, the keywords can be accessed by clicking on the page
number after the entry.
If the Manual is viewed on the screen, any provided links can be followed by clicking on the accompanying
references or page numbers. Some images contain links that can be clicked on to quickly access relevant
information as long as the document is viewed on the computer. This is made clear in the text close to the
image, as well as the fact that the cursor changes to a hand when hovered over the image. It can then be
clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant section.
A long hyperlink to the internet, such as "http://soft-byte.co.uk/CableManuals9/Screenlink_USB.pdf",
might be split over two lines by hyphenation. In the link shown here "softbyte" is hyphenated to "soft-byte".

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 Using DesignaKnit (Complete)

On attempting to access it, internet browsers will return a "This site cannot be reached" or similar message.
This can easily be remedied by deleting the hyphen sign "-" in the browser bar.
Mini table of contents are provided as a means of accessing the information efficiently when the PDF is
viewed on the computer. If it is printed, the page references will point to the correct pages.

Printing from the PDF can be done by right clicking on one of the
bookmarks and selecting the option to "Print Page(s)" or "Print Section(s)".
In the example on the left, "Buttons and Menus" was clicked on, then right
clicked to access the options shown.

Good Practice
Backups 417
Updates 418
Documenting with Screen Prints 418

Backups
Making regular backups of the designs will safeguard any work done. Backups can be made by simply
copying the shape files to a different location, such as a USB stick, an external hard drive, Cloud storage if
available or even sending the files to a different email address.
When major changes are intended to a design it is recommended to work with a copy of the shape file,
leaving the original intact to be able to restore to this if necessary. This may be achieved by opening the
shape file and saving it under a different name. This new file can then be worked with, while the original
remains unchanged (See on page 462).
It is a good idea to make a backup of a piece before working in Exact Stitch Layout as undoing changes by
reverting to before Exact Stitch Layout will result in all changes being lost, not just the Exact Stitch Layout
changes. The piece can be copied by making it active, then selecting Piece / Duplicate from the top menu
bar, giving it a name and moving it to a convenient location on the workspace.
This is also a good idea when experimenting with pieces and making changes that are complicated.
Another way is to start a new shape file and import pieces from previously created designs. More inform-
ation about importing pieces can be found in the Original Pattern Drafting manual.

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Updates

From time to time, if there is a new version,

DesignaKnit will prompt to download
updates, at which point the interval
between update prompts may be changed
if desired, as can be seen in the top image
in the left. Clicking "Update now" will
present the second dialogue.
The program can also be updated by going
to Help / Web Updates / Program update or
clicking "Program update" after accessing
the Help / Technical support menu option. If
there is an open, unsaved design on the
workspace, DesignaKnit will prompt to
save this before proceeding. Clicking the
"Download" button might pop up another
dialogue informing of the current version.
On accepting, downloading will start and
show a progress bar on the screen as
shown in the bottom image. When finished
DesignaKnit will restart with the opening
screen.
The process can be repeated for updating
Help and Manual files.

Clicking "Options" on the first download screen will

display the options shown on the left. These should
only be used if advised by the Soft Byte Ltd help
desk. "Use alternative method" will update in the
background, even though nothing appears to
happen. Ticking "Download the update..." and clicking "OK" returns to the main download manager screen
from where "Download" can be clicked again to save the file to the folder specified (Documents \Desig-
naKnit 9). From this location it can be double clicked to install. When using this method, DesignaKnit needs
to be closed and the update file needs to be navigated to. Depending on the Windows version and the
current Windows user, permission will be needed to continue, after which installation proceeds and the
program will start with the opening screen when finished.

Before contacting the Help Desk it is prudent to update all parts of DesignaKnit to see if this
solves any issues.

Documenting with Screen Prints

Documenting is useful to keep track of all shape files, patterns and stitch designs created. There may also
be a requirement for providing instructions for publication or distribution to other parties. In both cases an
external program such as Word may be used. As well as being able to use the PrintScreen or Alt-
PrintScreen Windows keys to copy the entire desktop or just the active program window respectively,
DesignaKnit provides an option to copy its design space to the clipboard after which it can be pasted into
other programs.

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 Using DesignaKnit (Complete)

Using the menu option Edit / Copy Design Space to Clipboard in Original Pattern Drafting, Edit / Copy and
Edit / Copy Sleeve in Standard Garment Styling or Edit / Copy in Stitch Designer will do just that. Opening
another program and using its native Paste option, or "Ctrl-V" will paste the Design Space as it is. Prior to
using this option the design space can be manipulated in such a way that all the desired elements are
visible, such as monochrome display, numbers, pattern, ruler, active piece only, body block showing etc.
The piece(s) can be zoomed to the exact size needed in Original Pattern Drafting, whereas Standard
Garment Styling does not have this option, although the DesignaKnit program window can be zoomed in or
out to go some way towards sizing the image. The design space is copied exactly as it is, which could result
in various images such as the ones that are shown below. Some examples of Original Pattern Drafting
images are shown at the top and Standard Garment Styling images underneath.
When the design space is copied, the program takes an screen shot of the entire workspace, regardless of
the size of the piece on it. In Standard Garment Styling the sleeve can either be shown on the workspace,
be in a floating window that is dragged away from the DesignaKnit workspace, or not shown. In each case
the result of Edit / Copy Sleeve is different. In all cases the resulting image will be the size of the sleeve
window, whether it is displayed fully or not. If the sleeve window is not floating and only partially shown the
resulting image will have a black border on the side(s) where it leaves the workspace, as shown in one of
the sleeve images below. A floating sleeve window will be copied as a complete image wherever it is
positioned on the screen.

The resulting image can be resized, cropped and manipulated in the receiving program.

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Knitting Information
Tensions 420
Rib 428
Knitting Abbreviations 430
Needle Sizes 431

Tensions
Tension dialogues 420
Tension buttons 423
Tensions and Exact Stitch Layout 424
Tensions and Passap 424
Estimating tensions 426
Tension Swatch 427

Tension dialogues
The larger "Tensions + Notes for .." dialogue (See page 421) will be opened when selecting the Options /
Tensions + Notes menu option in Original Pattern Drafting and, if a shape file is open, the Options /
Tensions menu option in Stitch Designer, Standard Garment Styling and Interactive Knitting. Shape files
have their own tensions which are set in Standard Garment Styling or Original Pattern Drafting and these
can differ from the general Stitch Designer tension.
The smaller "Tensions" dialogue (See page 422) will be opened for a stitch pattern file in Stitch Designer
and Interactive Knitting on selecting Options / Tensions.

The display in centimetres (see darker

blue arrow in image below) has come
from the settings in Options / Units of
Measurement. If "tensions per inch" was
specified it would read inches and if
"tensions per 4 inches" was specified it
would be displayed as that, as indicated
by the blue arrows in the images on the
left. Switching from one setting to another recalculates the values. For the purpose of explanation the centi-
metres option is used here.

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Larger Tensions
dialogue - This dialogue
is accessed from Options
/ Tensions in Standard
Garment Styling and
Original Pattern Drafting
because these sections
deal with shape files. It is
also opened from Stitch
Designer when a shape
file is open and from Inter-
active Knitting when
knitting a garment piece
from a shape file.
When a shape file is first
opened in Stitch
Designer, another
dialogue appears to ask
whether to use the
tension from the stitch
pattern, shape file or a
different tension
altogether. More inform-
ation about this can be
found in the Stitch
Designer manual.
When the tensions are
known they can be entered in either of the sets of boxes indicated by the red ovals.
Tensions can be entered as "Stitches / Rows per 10 cm" or the actual size of 40 stitches and 60 rows can
be physically measured and entered. Entering in one set will automatically adjust the other.

The tension dialogue refers to rows of finished fabric. For machine knitting there may be multiple
carriage passes for each row of finished fabric.

Rows are sometimes referred to as 'courses', and stitch columns as 'wales' in knitting instructions.
Rib, Cuff and Neckband Tensions (see red arrow) can be entered as different to the main garment piece to
ensure that the finished garment will fit snugly. The number of stitches could be set higher to result in a
tighter band, or the knitting could be made tighter by switching to a different dial setting or needle size while
keeping the same number of stitches. Either way, it is best to knit a tension swatch to be certain of the
outcome!
The "Tension dial setting or needle sizes" section can contain up to 50 characters, while "Notes about this
shape file" can contain up to 4000 characters, as indicated by the counter at the bottom of the dialogue,
which shows how many characters can still be typed (see light blue arrow above). Both of these sections
can be filled as required, with reminders about why a certain tension was chosen or any other information
that is relevant to this particular shape file. The text in these boxes can be searched on in the "Thumbnails"
view when opening a shape file.
In addition to entering the tensions manually, they can also be obtained from existing files, set from default
or set as default and the default values can be viewed (See page 423).

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The information that is entered in the Tensions dialogue is saved with the shape file, so when that file is
reopened in Standard Garment Styling, Original Pattern Drafting or Interactive Knitting, it will open at the
saved tension setting. Stitch pattern files in Stitch Designer do not have a tension setting of their own as
they could be used with different shape files (garment pieces) and will most likely need to take on those
tensions.

Therefore it is important to make a note of the tension used in

designing the stitch pattern, together with other relevant inform-
ation such as which yarns were used, needle size or knitting
machine settings etc. This can be done by using the Edit / Notes
menu option in Stitch Designer, which opens the "Notes about
this stitch pattern" dialogue as shown on the left, which can
contain up to 360 characters.
As well as tension settings, it may be useful to document which
shape file (garment piece) this particular stitch pattern is used for.

Working with the correct tensions is required for the knitted result to be as designed and expected.

On saving, the notes information is kept with the individual shape file for future reference, with the added
benefit that this information can be searched for in the Thumbnails browser.

Smaller Tensions
dialogue - A smaller
version of the "Tensions"
dialogue will open if there
is no shape file involved.
Tension can be changed
temporarily in this smaller
dialogue for Stitch
Designer, Interactive
Knitting and DesignaKnit
Graphics Studio and will
revert to the default tension after closing any of these sections.

Tensions for Shape files are saved with the shape file and Tensions for stitch patterns are transient as
the same stitch pattern may be applied to different shape files with different tension requirements.

The dialogue serves different purposes in the different sections of DesignaKnit.

○ In Stitch Designer, if there is no open shape file to be integrated with the current stitch pattern it can
be used to visualize how a different tension could affect a stitch pattern. As stitch patterns can be
used for different shape files which can all have different tensions, the changes made here are not
permanent.
○ Although it is possible, there should be no need to change the tension in Interactive Knitting before
starting to knit because it is determined in Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment Styling
(after knitting and measuring a swatch). It is then saved with the shape file and incorporated within
the garment pieces.

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○ In DesignaKnit Graphics Studio the small tension dialogue is used to provide recommendations of
the grid dimensions. Suitable No. of Stitches and No. of Rows values can be determined for Picture
Image types before converting a graphic file to a stitch pattern of the desired proportions.

If "Set as default" is clicked, the DesignaKnit default tension will change and will be offered for each new
shape file in Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment Styling, as well as for each stitch pattern
file that is opened in Interactive Knitting, DesignaKnit Graphics Studio and Stitch Designer if a shape file
is not integrated.

As soon as a shape file is opened and associated with the current stitch pattern the larger "Tensions +
Notes for.." dialogue (See page 421) will be displayed when Options / Tensions is selected.

Tension buttons
The Tension dialogue provides the different buttons shown below to set and reset Tensions for the current
stitch pattern or shape file.

Tensions can be taken

from another shape file by clicking the "Set
from shape file" button.
The "Open shape file" dialogue is then
opened to allow selection of the files shown
in the box (see on the right), or to browse for
more shape files. The five shape files that
were last opened in DesignaKnit, whether
from Original Pattern Drafting or another
section, will be displayed. This option is
particularly useful where identical yarns and
needles or machine settings are used for a
range of garments or pieces that are similar to each other, but not standard.
Selecting a file here does not open the shape file, it merely applies the tension that is used in that shape
file to the current garment piece or stitch pattern. Clicking the "Browse Shape Files" button opens the
"Open Shape File" thumbnails view in which tensions are displayed when the "Details" box is ticked.

The tensions for the current shape file can be set from the default values. Clicking this
button will copy the current default values to this shape file in Original Pattern Drafting, Standard
Garment Styling and Interactive Knitting. In Stitch Designer this will apply the Stitch Designer tension to
the stitch pattern on the workspace.

When this button is clicked the default values will be replaced by the values of the
current shape file. This option is useful when it is anticipated that the current tension values will be used
as a basis for all or most new pieces. The default values can be reconfigured as often as needed.

This option sets the default tensions for all sections of DesignaKnit, affecting all new shape and stitch
pattern files. It does not affect the tension settings of existing files.

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Clicking on the "Show default" button displays the defaults as they are currently set in
DesignaKnit 9. Initially these are the values of the program, but when clicking the "Set as default" button
at any time the values will be replaced for this and subsequent shape files. Any existing shape files will
keep he tension that was set for them.

Tensions and Exact Stitch Layout

If tension changes are made to a piece that has been edited in Exact Stitch Layout the following warning
appears:

The name of the active

piece ("Back") is shown in
the blue oval. Selecting the
option to "Retain ESL
status..." will result in the
active piece adjusting
shape to take the tension
change into account.
Selecting the "Undo all ESL
changes (revert..." option
will leave the shape of the
piece as is, but will change
the status of it to a normal
piece on the workspace.
Thereafter it will not be an
Exact Stitch Layout piece
anymore. The results of both options are shown in the images below.
Selecting either of the options is a non reversible action and cannot be undone unless the shape file is
exited without saving!
Selecting "Cancel tension change" will abandon the action.

It is highly recommended to set any tensions correctly before entering into Exact Stitch
Layout mode.

Tensions and Passap

The Tensions dialogue is slightly different for Pfaff / Passap E6000 / E8000 knitting machines, as shown in
the images below. The main "Tensions + Notes for..." dialogue appears when Options / Tensions is
accessed for a shape (garment piece) file, while the smaller "Tensions" is displayed for stitch patterns.

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While there are notable differences for the Tension dialogue when a Passap machine is selected, the
'Notes' and 'Tension dial setting or needle sizes' are the same as for other knitting machines.
A "Technique" button appears at the bottom of the dialogue (See also Technique numbers on page 481)
and the Technique number that is used is displayed after "Main Tensions" in the dialogue (see light blue
arrows).
Options / Units of measurement has been selected to display centimetres in the larger dialogue. To illus-
trate the difference, the "tensions per 4 inches" setting which is more commonly used for Passap, has been
used for the smaller dialogue (see darker blue ovals).
Furthermore, tension is measured in stitches and lock passes (see red circles) instead of stitches and
rows. Tensions are entered is as follows for Passap knitting machines:
○ Vertical tensions are entered as lock passes instead of pattern rows. A lock pass is equivalent to a
carriage pass. When using Jacquard knitting one row may consist of several lock (or carriage)
passes to knit all the colours in the pattern. Passes of the locks are not usually the same as rows of a
stitch pattern (which are grid rows on the screen). When knitting a swatch for calculating the tension
additional lock passes may be required to knit each row or pair of rows, according to the technique.
The E6000, E8000 and Duomatic (punch card) machines generally knit two complete rows for every
row that is drawn on the punch card or downloaded to the knitting machine. E.g., a colour pattern that
has 10 rows on the DesignaKnit workspace will usually be twenty rows when knitted. There are
exceptions to this rule when choosing a technique that does not double the rows, such as techniques
129, 135, 172, 179, 252, 253, 254, and 255.
○ The swatch size is 100 stitches by 100 lock passes instead of 40 stitches by 60 pattern rows. Users
who prefer to measure swatches using the 40 stitches x 60 rows method can still do so by tempor-
arily selecting a different type of knitting machine and entering the values in the tension dialogue.
Changing to Pfaff / Passap E6000 or E8000 before printing or knitting interactively will automatically
convert the entries to the new format.

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○ Garment shape files that are saved with tensions in terms of pattern rows rather than lock passes will
convert automatically on switching to a Passap knitting machine.

Estimating tensions
Until a stitch pattern is designed, knitted and measured the exact tensions to enter into DesignaKnit are not
known. However, tensions need to be entered to design and knit. While the default tensions could be used,
it is better to start with a grid which approximates the correct dimensions for the stitch pattern and
technique used. This will avoid distortion of the finalised stitch pattern.
To estimate the tensions prior to designing a stitch pattern or garment one of the following methods could
be used:
Method 1: for Bird's-eye Jacquard, using a common combination of yarn and technique and if a little distor-
tion is acceptable
○ For 2 colour Jacquard using technique 180 and 3 ply yarn: 28 stitches and 23 rows to 10 cm (4
inches)
○ For 3 colour Jacquard using technique 195 and 2 ply yarn: 32 stitches and 23 rows to 10 cm (4
inches)
○ For 4 colour Jacquard using technique 207 and 2 ply yarn: 32 stitches and 18 rows to 10 cm (4
inches)
Method 2: for any technique and yarn, resulting in exact proportions
○ An existing pattern needs to be selected, or a simple draft pattern designed, similar in construction to
the desired new pattern and using the same knitting technique! A 40 stitch by 60 row test swatch
should be knitted, starting and ending with 20 rows of waste yarn. The 60 rows are 60 lock passes,
not 60 complete rows of pattern.
○ For E6000 machine, the console should be programmed until TEST appears, then ENT and the
swatch needs to be knitted by following the instructions on the console. A cast on method, suitable
for the knitting technique, should be chosen, such as "cast on 6" for single bed knitting and "cast on
2" for full needle rib (Jacquard) knitting.
○ After resting the sample (as is usual for a tension swatch) it needs to be measured with a ruler that
uses centimetres. The exact measurements need to be recorded and not rounded up or down, so
that if 10 stitches measure 4.2 centimetres this is the measurement that is used. If the units of
measurement are not already in centimetres, this needs to be set in Options / Units of Measurement.
○ The number of stitches per 10 centimetres now needs to be calculated. Supposing the swatch is 40
stitches wide and measures 25 centimetres in width, the number of stitches that are needed to
produce 10 centimetres would be calculated by dividing 400 (40 stitches times 10 centimetres) by 25
(the physical measurement of 40 stitches). This is 16, which is the number to be entered in the
"Stitches per 10 cm" box in the Tensions dialogue.
To simplify: if 40 stitches measure 25 cms, then 1 cm equals 40 divided by 25 and 10 cms equals 400
(40 times 10) divided by 25.
○ The calculation for the grid rows is similar, but also needs to take the Technique number into
account, as each Technique has a different number of lock passes per grid row. Supposing the
swatch is 60 physical rows and measures 16 centimetres in height, the number of rows that are
needed to produce 10 centimetres would be calculated by dividing 600 (60 rows times 10 centi-
metres) by 16 (the physical measurement of 60 rows), which is 37.5. However, this number needs to
be multiplied by the number of lock passes per grid row. The correct number of lock passes can be
found by clicking on the "Technique" button in the Tensions dialogue and entering the required
Technique number. After this, the correct number of passes per row will be displayed, which will be
the multiplication factor. Using Technique 176, the multiplication factor is 4 and 37.5 will need to be

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 Knitting Information (Complete)

multiplied by this. The resulting value of 150 can be entered in the "Lock passes per 10 cms" box in
the Tensions dialogue.
To simplify: if 60 physical rows measures 16 cms, then 1 cm equals 60 divided by 16 and 10 cms
equals 600 divided by 16, which is 37.5 rows. As rows are made up of a different number of lock
passes (depending on the Technique number) and lock passes, not rows, need to be entered, the
outcome needs to be multiplied by the 'passes per row' multiplication factor of the Technique.
○ Although centimetres are generally used, the same calculations can easily be made for inches. E.g.,
if 60 physical rows measures 6.3 inches, then 1 inch equals 60 divided by 6.3, which is 9.52 and 4
inches (which is the usual tension setting for Passap) equals 9.52 times 4, which is 38 rows. This
needs to be multiplied by the Technique multiplication factor. As this was found to be 4 in the
example used, the resulting 152 (slightly more than the equivalent calculation in centimetres) can be
entered in the Tensions dialogue.
The number of stitches and lock passes, as obtained by the above calculations, are the numbers to be
entered in the Tensions dialogue of Stitch Designer, Original Pattern Drafting, Standard Garment Styling or
Interactive Knitting in "Stitches per 10 cms (or 4")" and "Lock passes per 10 cms (or 4")" respectively, after
which DesignaKnit will calculate the correct measurements.

The correct tensions should be used throughout. Small discrepancies can have big
consequences. Setting the correct tensions makes the difference between a perfectly
sized piece and one which leaves a lot to be desired.

DesignaKnit assumes an overall average tension within the same stitch pattern or shape but, as any knitter
knows, different elements of the pattern can produce varying tensions within those elements, which can
affect the overall length and width of the finished item. It is up to the knitter to decide whether the stitch
pattern is altered to fit a given measurement, or whether the measurements are altered to accommodate
the stitch pattern. Shape files are changed in Original Pattern Drafting or Standard Garment Styling while
stitch patterns can be altered in Stitch Designer.

Tension Swatch
The finished result is affected by the thickness and quality of the yarn used, the settings of the knitting
machine, the size of needles used and the actual tension. Although there are initial default settings in the
program it is necessary to knit a tension swatch with the yarn to be used and the needle sizes or machine
setting intended as there are numerous factors influencing the resulting tension. Once the correct tensions
have been entered in Options / Tensions of the relevant section of DesignaKnit, these values are taken into
account in Yarn Calculator (See on page 384) to accurately calculate the amount of yarn needed for the
finished design.
Interactive Knitting provides an easy way of producing a tension swatch from a stitch pattern for both hand
and machine knitting, which is described in the Interactive Knitting manual. If there is no stitch pattern, the
following, very general instruction of how to knit a tension swatch could be used. More examples can easily
be found on the internet, or in the manual of the knitting machine. When designing stitch patterns it is a
good idea to knit the tension swatch including all the yarns and different stitch types involved to arrive at an
accurate result.
○ Start by casting on 28 stitches. Work the swatch in stocking stitch until it measures 14 centimetres.
Keeping the first and last 2 stitches knit on every row helps the edges to lay flat.
○ 1st row: knit
2nd row: knit 2, purl to last 2 stitches, knit 2

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Knitting Information (Complete)

○ Repeat these 2 rows until the swatch measures 14 cm ending with a 2nd row. Break yarn off, slip it
through the stitches and take them off the needle. Don't cast off as this can distort the stitches.
○ Optional, but highly recommended: Wash and dry the tension swatch as you would treat the finished
garment to allow for any shrinking or stretching that may take place during normal use. If this step is
used the piece may need casting off first, in which case several more rows could be knit before
casting off.
○ Lay the swatch flat and place a ruler horizontally on it. Put a pin at the side of one 'v' and another pin
10 centimetres away. Count the stitches by counting the number of 'v' shapes horizontally between
the two pins, including any half stitches.
○ Now place the ruler vertically on the swatch. Put a pin at the bottom of one 'v' and another pin 10
centimetres away. Count the 'v' shapes between the two pins, including any half stitches.
The results of this exercise can be entered into the program with appropriate notes. This can be done for
each piece, or the values can be made default so they are used every time a new project is started (See on
page 420).

Rib
"Rib" is a general term to describe the finished edge of a garment, such as the bottom of a jumper, cuff of a
sleeve or neckband. Rib is generally created at the beginning of the piece, is usually formed by a different
technique such as rib and is usually set at a tighter tension to allow for a good fit (See page 421). Rib can
also be designed as a separate piece in Original Pattern Drafting and attached later by sewing or picking
up stitches.

Whereas ribs are visibly shown by a different colour and in

proportion to the rest of the garment in Standard Garment
Styling, they are absent in Original Pattern Drafting, as
illustrated by the top and bottom images on the left.
Rib can be defined and altered in Standard Garment
Styling. Any changes are saved in the shape file and will
be taken into account in printed as well as Interactive
Knitting instructions. However, opening, altering and then
saving a Standard Garment Styling shape file in Original
Pattern Drafting, thus converting it to Original Pattern
Drafting will lose rib information for the amended garment
pieces. If the shape file is subsequently reopened in
Standard Garment Styling there will be a warning to the
effect that Original Pattern Drafting changes will be lost on
proceeding.
If a garment is designed in Standard Garment Styling, rib, cuff and neckband are part of the design and the
number of rows of rib to be knitted will be shown in both printed and Interactive Knitting instructions.
Original Pattern Drafting garment pieces do not have provision for rib, cuffs, neckband etc. and, if required,
these have to be designed as separate pieces to be joined with the main body of knitting on assembling the
separate parts into one garment.

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 Knitting Information (Complete)

Pattern pieces from different sources

may exist within one shape file, as
shown on the left. This information can
be found by using the Piece / Select
Piece menu option in Original Pattern
Drafting, or it is shown when selecting a
piece from a shape file in Stitch
Designer and Interactive Knitting. The
title bar will read "Select pattern pieces"
instead of "Select piece" in Stitch
Designer as more than one piece can be
selected.
As long as there are pieces that have a dot in the SGS column, the file can be opened in Standard Garment
Styling although all changes that were made in Original Pattern Drafting will be lost when the file is
subsequently saved in Standard Garment Styling. If none of the pieces are dotted in the SGS column, the
shape file cannot be opened in Standard Garment Styling.
If pieces have been integrated with a stitch pattern, the stitch pattern name is displayed to the right of the
relevant piece. If a stitch pattern had been integrated but has since been deleted "Cannot find the file
nnn.stp." is displayed, where nnn is the name of the deleted pattern.
File / Print / Piece summary shows instructions for knitting rib as well as other information regarding the
garment and selected piece (See on page 376). File / Print / Garment text does not contain any rib inform-
ation, but gives row by row knitting instructions (See on page 380). Both can be accessed from Standard
Garment Styling, Original Pattern Drafting and through the Shapes / Print Shapes menu option in Stitch
Designer.
For garment pieces that have been designed in Standard Garment Styling and that include rib, relevant
instructions such as the number of rows of rib to knit will be given at the appropriate time in Interactive
Knitting. The instructions for garment pieces that originate from or have been altered by Original Pattern
Drafting will read: "Knit rib, if any" as the number of rows of rib is unknown.

The images on the left illustrate that rib is not a part of the
Original Pattern Drafting garment pieces. Rib is shown in a
different colour on the Standard Garment Styling screen, but
is absent from the Original Pattern Drafting workspace.
As shown here, increasing the sleeve cuff (rib) in Standard
Garment Styling results in a smaller garment piece on the
Original Pattern Drafting workspace when the same file is
opened in there.
The Piece summary printout shows how many rows of rib
need to be worked before the instructions of the main piece, in
the Garment Text printout are to be followed.

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Piece / Select Pieces was opened in Original Pattern Drafting for the
image on the left and shows that the garment consists of five purely
Standard Garment Styling pieces, with one piece added in Original
Pattern Drafting. This shape file can still be opened in Standard
Garment Styling as all the original pieces have not been changed.
The new piece was added by copying an existing piece and renaming
it.
A garment may be designed in Standard Garment Styling in order to
include rib, cuffs and neckband, after which it can be opened in Original Pattern Drafting. Some or all of the
pieces may be adjusted and thereby converted to Original Pattern Drafting pieces. This will still leave the
unaltered pieces as Standard Garment Styling which means that rib information is still available for these
pieces at print or Interactive Knitting stage. Any new pieces that may be added in Original Pattern Drafting
will have no rib information and pieces that have been converted will have lost their rib information on
saving in Original Pattern Drafting, unless the file is opened in Standard Garment Styling, accepting the
"Changes will be lost" warning and saved.

Rib and Cuff dimensions that are set in Standard Garment Styling are NOT included in the
Original Pattern Drafting instructions. If rib is used, Piece summary needs to be read in
conjunction with Garment text.

If the Neck band measurements are chosen in Standard Garment Styling in such a way that the placement
would be different - such as a lower Vee neck or wider opening across the shoulders, this will be taken into
account in the main part of the garment piece in Original Pattern Drafting even though the neck band itself
will not be shown or included.
Rib and Cuff dimensions are only taken into account in the Yarn Calculation (See page 384) for Standard
Garment Styling pieces. They need to be added as separate pieces on the workspace in Original Pattern
Drafting for them to be taken into the calculation.

Knitting Abbreviations
The most commonly used DesignaKnit knitting abbreviations are listed in the table below. All other knitting
abbreviations that are used by DesignaKnit for all the possible stitches can be found in the stitch symbols
palette in Stitch Designer.

Abbreviation Abbreviation
Description Description
Machine knit Hand knit

F Fair Isle Hk Stocking stitch, flat

Reverse stocking stitch,
W Wrong side facing Hp
flat
Garter stitch, knitting
R Right side facing Hgk
every stitch, flat
Garter stitch, purling every
2 2 colour Jacquard Hgp
stitch, flat

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Abbreviation Abbreviation
Description Description
Machine knit Hand knit

3 3 colour Jacquard Hk O Stocking stitch, circular

4 4 colour Jacquard Hp O Reverse stocking, circular
5 5 colour Jacquard Hgk O Garter stitch, knit, circular
6 6 colour Jacquard Hgp O Garter stitch, purl, circular
I Intarsia
CAL Carriage at Left
CAR Carriage at Right

Needle Sizes
The table below lists needle sizes and their equivalents in different systems.

Metric (mm) 1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.25 2.5 2.75 3 3.25 3.5
UK 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
US 000 00 0 1 2 3 4
Japanese 0 1 2 3 4 5

Metric (mm) 3.75 4 4.25 4.5 4.75 5 5.5 5.75 6 6.25

UK 9 8 7 6 5 4
US 5 6 7 8 9 10
Japanese 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Metric (mm) 6.5 7 7.5 8 9 10 12 16 19 25

UK 3 2 1 0 00 000
US 10.5 11 13 15 17 19 35 50
Japanese 15 7 8 9 10

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Stitch Pattern Files

Thumbnails 433
Open File 437
Save 437
Delete 439
Integrate 440
Transfer 443

Stitch patterns can be added to the design of garment pieces that are created in Original Pattern Drafting or
Standard Garment Styling to add interest and colour to plain knitting. Stitch patterns are created and
amended in Stitch Designer and can be applied to garment pieces in Original Pattern Drafting. Standard
Garment Styling garment pieces can be accessed in Stitch Designer in order to apply stitch patterns to
them. Patterns can be positioned to fit on the pieces in different ways to suit any desired design.

For the buttons shown here, wherever they appear in DesignaKnit and when
they are used to open a file, the "Ctrl" key can be held while clicking them to toggle between opening in
Thumbnails and File list view.

Clicking the "Show the integrated stitch patterns" button from the Top Toolbar of Original Pattern
Drafting displays all stitch patterns that have been applied to any of the pieces on the workspace. Different
stitch patterns can be applied to each garment piece by using this button or the View / Stitch Pattern menu
option, after which they can be integrated, changed or removed by using the File / Integrate option on the
menu. Double clicking this button will open the Thumbnails dialogue in order to select a (different) stitch
pattern for the current piece.
Original Pattern Drafting is not available in the Machine Standard product level of DesignaKnit.

Clicking either of these buttons on the Top Toolbar of Stitch Designer displays the pieces of the
selected shape file on the currently active stitch pattern. Shape file pieces can be selected and matched to
a stitch pattern. Saving the shape file with the Shapes / Save Shape (As) menu option will update the
garment piece(s) with this information. The Shapes / Integrate menu option can be used to check which
pieces are integrated with the current stitch pattern.
"Stitch Pattern" refers to the stitch pattern files found in DesignaKnit, as well as to creating a stitch pattern
using stitch texture techniques (slip, tuck, garter stitch, stitch cable, lace, weave) and / or coloured yarns.
The stitch pattern (*.stp) files are located in the "..\Documents \DesignaKnit 9 \Stitch patterns" folder as a
default location, although different folders may be created (See on page 410) and set as default, using the
File / Default Folder menu option.
Stitch patterns can comprise colours, textures or both, depending on the method of knitting. Fair Isle stitch
patterns can include sections of texture as well as sections of colour pattern, but if patterns have a
Jacquard method they cannot include textures because Jacquard involves multiple passes of the carriage
for each pair of knitted rows, which does not allow for textured knitting.Stitch texture refers to the way in
which DesignaKnit works yarns, independent of colours used. More information on techniques and possib-
ilities can be found in Stitch Pattern Methods (See page 358).
When designing stitch patterns, certain rules need to be observed. Not all combinations of knitting
machine, method of knitting and stitch pattern are possible. If there are incompatibilities, DesignaKnit will
generate error or warning messages on saving, downloading or using Interactive Knitting. The necessary

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requirements have been described in the relevant sections, but some general rules to bear in mind are
listed below:
○ Fair Isle can be worked with two colours per row only.
○ Fair Isle patterns can have an odd number of rows and DesignaKnit will warn of difficult colour
changes if these are encountered.
○ Although Fair Isle patterns can contain Smart Symbols, if both colour and texture are used in the
same row, the texture symbols will take precedence and the colour pattern will be ignored.
○ Jacquard stitch patterns should not contain Smart Symbols, as they cannot be knitted or
downloaded. A warning to this effect is given if the Jacquard pattern contains smart symbols and
they will be ignored.
○ Jacquard stitch patterns need to have an even number of rows.
○ Right / Wrong side facing texture methods stitch patterns can have only one opaque colour in each
row.

Thumbnails
Sort 435
Search 435

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Stitch pattern thumbnails can be accessed from Stitch Designer by clicking the button on the Left
Toolbar (first button on the left), the File / Thumbnails menu option or by pressing "Ctrl-T". Graphic files
(See page 465) and Palette files (*.plt) can be opened in addition to *.stp (DesignaKnit versions 7, 8 and
above), *.pat (DesignaKnit versions 5 and 6) and *.dat (PC10 files). The different file types and how they
are used are described in the Stitch Designer manual. Stitch pattern thumbnails can also be accessed in
the "Integrate" dialogue that is accessed through Shapes / Integrate (second button shown) in order to
select a different stitch pattern for integration.

In Interactive Knitting stitch pattern files are accessed by clicking on the button on the Left Toolbar
(shown here) or the "Browse Stitch Patterns" button that appears on the opening dialogue. *.stp, *.pat and
*.dat can all be selected here.

Stitch patterns can be accessed to be applied to garment pieces in Original Pattern Drafting by
clicking the button on the Top Toolbar (first button on the left) or the button to select a different stitch pattern
to apply to garment pieces when the File / Integrate menu option has been accessed (second button on the
left). In both cases there is a "Use for all pattern pieces" option at the bottom of the thumbnails screen (See
page 435). *.stp, *.pat and *.dat files can be selected.
All the relevant files are shown in the different sections of DesignaKnit as located in the default folder of the
stitch pattern files that is set in Stitch Designer. If stitch patterns are located in a different folder this can of
course be navigated to. Or if the name of the pattern is known it can be typed in the box. When the first
letter is typed the right hand window will respond by jumping to files starting with that letter.
When clicking on the little drop down arrow next to Stitch Patterns (see red oval) the file types that are
relevant to the current section of DesignaKnit are shown.
When a stitch pattern is clicked on once, its enlarged image will be displayed in the preview space on the
left, as is the case with the 'rosy.stp' pattern shown here. The knitting method (such as F, 2, 3, I, W or Hk,
Hg, Hk O etc.) as well as the stitch pattern name are shown underneath the enlarged image. Clicking once
on the required file and then on the "OK" button or the enlarged image opens the stitch pattern. Altern-
atively, the required file can be opened immediately by double clicking on its thumbnail in the right hand
side window.

The Zoom options can be clicked on to enlarge or reduce the view of the images. When the zoom
level is at maximum, individual points can be seen on the pieces of Original Pattern Drafting pieces.

If the spectacles button (see light blue arrow) becomes active, it means a high resolution
preview of a large image is available and the button can be clicked on to display it. If the button is greyed
out the preview already shows the highest possible resolution.
The "View All" button (see fuchsia arrow) only becomes available after "Search" has been used and some
options have been excluded from the view, e.g., if only Hand Knitting methods were chosen. Clicking "View
All" will display all the files in the folder.
When the "Details" box is ticked the image details as well as the image itself are shown (see red circle).
The date is the date the image was last saved. Unticked, the images are only shown with their file names.
The size of (in this case) 24 x 64 means that the pattern measures 24 stitches by 64 rows. The numbers 3,
4, 5 or letters I, F, Hk, Hp etc. refer to the knitting method used, which can be changed in Options / Method
of Knitting at any time during the design. If "CC" is displayed after the knitting method in the title bar of
Stitch Designer this denotes that the stitch pattern was saved with the Colour Changer option set to "on".

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In Original Pattern Drafting an additional box can appear to the

right of the "Help" button (see dark blue arrow) on selecting a stitch pattern for a garment piece. It can be
ticked if this particular stitch pattern needs to be applied to all the pieces in the shape file. This box shows
"All Pieces" or "Use for all pattern pieces" depending on the size of the DesignaKnit program window and
may disappear from view altogether if there is not enough space to display it.
The name ("rosy.stp"), as well as the knitting method identifier will be shown in the title bar of the active file,
as shown in the image below. For a hand knitted design, the section where the knitting machine is shown
will read [ Hand knitting ] and "3" will instead read "Hk" or similar.

Sort

The "Sort" option at the bottom

of the dialogue can be used to limit the
collection of stitch patterns or palette files
that are shown on the screen in a variety
of ways.
Once a sort order has been selected
clicking "OK" will apply it and exit this box,
while "Apply" leaves the "Sort options"
box on the screen, allowing different
sorting.
The options chosen can be made default
by clicking "Make default" to be used the
next time this menu is opened, or "Reset"
to revert to the DesignaKnit default
settings.
When the default sort of "Alphabetically
by file name" is active, and the "Details" option is ticked in the "Open Stitch Pattern" dialogue, Hand Knit
stitch patterns will be shown using the same Knitting method code as displayed in the Stitch Designer title
bar, such as Hk, Hp, Hgk, or Hgp. If they are Circular, a letter O is added to the code. The same code is
shown under the enlarged image of the pattern in main Thumbnails dialogue when the pattern is clicked on.

Search
The Stitch pattern "Search" option allows the number of patterns shown in the Thumbnails view to be
limited to required options. The dialogue shown below is presented on selecting the "Search" option for
stitch pattern and palette files.

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Initially all the

"Knitting methods"
options are ticked to
display all available
stitch patterns. The
"Clear methods"
button (see blue
arrow) can be clicked
to clear all of the
options, after which
individually chosen
stitch pattern charac-
teristics may be
chosen.
The "Machine knitting" or "Hand knitting" options (see light blue arrows) can be ticked or unticked to limit
the display to stitch patterns with hand or machine knitting method. As soon as one of the options is
selected the corresponding 'header' button of "Machine knitting" or "Hand knitting" is ticked as well. If
"Machine knit" is unticked while "Hand knit" was unticked "Hand knit" will be ticked with all of its options,
and vice versa.
At least one of the options in each of the hand knitting methods (see light blue boxes) needs to be ticked.
In addition to the Knitting methods "Pattern size" can be specified by entering a minimum and / or
maximum number of stitches and "Date last saved" can be specified to limit the search to patterns saved
within a date range. The relevant box(es) in front of each option (see blue ovals) needs to be ticked, after
which values can be typed in. This is a particularly useful feature if larger or smaller patterns are required, if
the number of needles of a knitting machine is limited, or to find stitch patterns with a width to match a
particular punch card size.
The search can be limited even further by ticking the "Embedded text" box (see red oval) and entering
(partial) text that was entered in the Edit / Notes menu option of Stitch Designer. The text is not case
sensitive.
Clicking "OK" will apply the search options and exit this box, while "Apply" leaves the Search option
dialogue on the screen, allowing different criteria to be specified. The options chosen can be made default
by clicking "Make default" to be used the next time this menu is opened, or "Reset" to revert to the Desig-
naKnit default settings.

The "Make default" option can be very useful when searching for certain stitch
patterns if not all the information is known. Rather than having to input the search criteria every time a file is
opened and found not to be the required one, the default setting will keep repeating the same search until
the correct file is found. The "Reset" and "Make default" buttons need to be clicked to revert to the Desig-
naKnit default search criteria.

When a search has been applied, the "Search" button in the "Open Stitch pattern" dialogue
turns red to remind the user that search criteria apply.

Stitch patterns cannot be resized in Original Pattern Drafting. If the size is not as required
the *.stp file needs to be modified in the Stitch Designer part of the program.

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Open File
Using the File / Open Stitch
Pattern menu option in Stitch
Designer presents a dialogue as
shown on the left, in which the
files are simply listed as in any
Windows application. This view
can also be accessed by using
"Ctrl-O". A different folder can be
accessed by clicking the drop
down triangle to the right of the
"Look in:" field, or moving up
through the folders by clicking the
"Up One Level" button (see red
circles).
The dialogue can list stitch
pattern (*.stp, *.pat, *.dat), palette
(*.plt) and graphic files with their
name and last amended date.
Which file types are listed can be
specified by clicking on the little drop down box arrow of "Files of type" (see blue circle) (See page 438).
The last opened file is shown in "File name" and can be accepted or typed over.

When starting to type letters in "File name" the program responds by displaying the
matching records and limiting the selection in the drop down box to the name, ignoring
any file types that might have been selected previously. In this example three different file
types were offered by typing "br" in the "File name" box. When the required file is visible it
can be chosen by clicking on it and then clicking "Open".
Palette and graphic files are described in more detail in the Stitch Designer manual.
If the file is in a different location this can be navigated to by using the Windows button (see red circle at the
top) to move through the folders (See also Folders and Paths on page 410).

Save

Stitch patterns and palette files can be saved at any point in the process and DesignaKnit presents
different options depending on when "Save" is opted for. If a stitch pattern file already exists the "Save"
button, or using "Ctrl-S" will save the open file without further prompting and the pattern is left on the screen
for further manipulation.
If it is the first time the pattern is saved, using File / Save or "Ctrl-S" presents a "Save As" dialogue which
looks very similar to the "Open File" dialogue that is shown above. The default DesignaKnit stitch patterns
location is presented, but may be changed if necessary (see red circles in the image above), and the stitch
pattern needs to be given a name. A different file type can be selected by clicking on the little drop down
box arrow of the "Save as type" field (see blue circle in the image above).

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If there are errors in the file, DesignaKnit may present a

warning such as the one shown on the right and offer to save
anyway. This can be useful if the file is to be worked on at a
different point in time.

If unsaved changes
have taken place in
the pattern, and
another file is switched to from the File menu, or a different section of
DesignaKnit is accessed the program presents the warning shown on the left.
If the file name is changed and saved it will be accepted as such unless it already exists, in which case
DesignaKnit will present another dialogue, asking whether the existing file is to be overwritten. Clicking
"Yes" will overwrite it. If "No" is clicked, the file can be renamed and saved.

Stitch pattern files can be saved as different type

of files by selecting one of the options in the drop
down box of the "Save Stitch Pattern File"
dialogue, as shown on the left.
*.stp and *.pat are normal stitch patterns for the
current and previous versions of DesignaKnit
respectively, while *.dat will save the stitch
pattern in a format that can be used with the Silver Reed PC10 (See on page 487). Saving as *.plt file will
save only the palette of the current stitch pattern, so that it can be used with different stitch patterns in the
future.

If the method of knitting is changed and the stitch pattern saved, it is saved for all instances in which it is
used, so that all pieces in all shape files that contain that particular stitch pattern will be changed. Saving
is generally an action in itself, but if the method is changed in Interactive Knitting it is changed and
saved without any prompting.

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Delete
Using the menu
option File / Delete
will open the thumb-
nails view of the
Stitch patterns
folder. The types of
file that can be
displayed are stitch
patterns (*.stp,
*.pat, *.dat), palette
files (*.plt) and
graphic files (any
image files).
Limiting the display
to any of these
types is done by
clicking the down
arrow at the side of
the drop down box
(see cursor arrow)
and selecting one
of the types.
When clicking on a
thumbnail a red
cross appears over
the image. Clicking on the thumbnail again removes the cross. In this way all files to be deleted can be
selected and when the "Delete" button is clicked all the selected files can be removed either one by one or
the entire selection at once.
There is a running count of files to be deleted at the bottom of the dialogue (see red oval).
Files can be sorted (See on page 435) and searched (See on page 435) to facilitate selection (see blue
arrows).
If none of the files are selected, clicking the "Close" button will return to the workspace with the current file
displayed. Clicking "OK" will return the user to the workspace without further prompting. Any files that were
marked for deletion will not be deleted.
If the stitch pattern that is open on the workspace is marked for deletion and deleted, it will still be on the
workspace when this is returned to, but its name will be changed to "Untitled.stp", enabling saving or
abandoning.

If files are selected and either the "Close" or "Delete" button

is clicked, the program will display the dialogue shown on the
left with the name of one of the files that is marked, asking
whether it is "OK to delete this file?". If the "Close" option was
used the files will be deleted as instructed and the user is
returned to the workspace. If "Delete" was chosen the
Thumbnails view of DesignaKnit remains open after deleting the selected files so that further selections
can be made.

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Stitch Pattern Files (Complete)

The program will ask for each file that is marked for deletion and the options "Yes", "No", "Cancel" and "All"
are given. "Yes" deletes one file at a time, "All" deletes all selected files without further prompting, "No"
skips the file and asks the same for the next if more than one has been selected, "Cancel" cancels the
operation and returns to the "Delete shape files" screen, leaving options as they were chosen.
After deleting the necessary files this part of the program can be exited by either clicking the "Close" button
or pressing the Esc key on the keyboard.

Deleting files cannot be undone. When files are deleted from DesignaKnit they do not end
up in the Windows recycle bin but are removed completely.

Integrate
The File / Integrate menu option in Original Pattern Drafting and Shapes / Integrate menu option in Stitch
Designer both allow a stitch pattern and garment piece to be integrated with or detached from each other.
In Original Pattern Drafting a stitch pattern is applied to a shape, while in Stitch Designer a shape is applied
to a stitch pattern.
If a shape file and its integrated pattern(s) is (are) received from another DesignaKnit user, they may be
stored together in the default "Shapes" folder. The location of each stitch pattern that is integrated with
each garment piece is checked on opening shape files. If the stitch pattern is not found in the "Stitch
patterns" folder, DesignaKnit looks in the folder where the shape file is stored, and if the stitch pattern is
there, the piece will be integrated with it.
Pattern authors should take care to use stitch pattern file names that are not likely to exist already in
commonly used folders. For example, all DesignaKnit users have the file Documents / DesignaKnit 9 /
Stitch patterns / Acorn.stp. If an author has modified Acorn.stp and has integrated their shape file with it,
the recipient of that file will open the normal Acorn.stp it from that same folder on their own computer. If the
modified Acorn.stp has been saved in the "Shapes" folder it will not be accessed and integrated, unless the
original Acorn.stp is deleted from the default "Stitch patterns" folder. In order to avoid this confusing
scenario, it is prudent to name modified stitch patterns with the author's initials, name or other identifying
description.

The "Integrate" dialogue can only be accessed in Stitch Designer

after the current stitch pattern is saved. If changes are made prior to
accessing Shapes / Integrate, the message shown on the left is
presented with the options "Yes", "No" and "Cancel". Changes
include changing the method of knitting and switching the Colour Changer on or off, as well as the normal
amendments with the design tools. If "Yes" is clicked, the program proceeds to the "Integrate" dialogue,
while clicking "No" or "Cancel" will return to the workspace without integrating stitch pattern and shape file
piece. If the changes were not intended, they can be undone by clicking the Undo button on the Left
Toolbar, accessing the Edit / Undo menu option or using "Ctrl-Z".
A shape file may already be open, possibly because Stitch Designer was accessed from Original Pattern
Drafting or Standard Garment Styling. If this is the case, any garment pieces that have been integrated with
the current stitch pattern will be ticked in the Shapes / Integrate dialogue and will be opened on the
workspace after clicking "OK".

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The dialogue on the

right is shown on
accessing the Integ-
rate option in Stitch
Designer.
Ticking a blank box in
front of a garment
piece in Stitch
Designer will integrate
the currently open
stitch pattern with that
garment piece. If a
stitch pattern other
than the currently open
one is integrated (for
example by integrating
different stitch patterns
in Original Pattern
Drafting) its name will
be shown, but the
selection box will be
blank. Ticking a blank
box will associate the open stitch pattern and unticking it will leave the field empty or reapply the previously
shown stitch pattern. Applying the current stitch pattern in this way will not affect the Original Pattern
Drafting integration until the shape is saved with this new pattern in the Shape / Save Shape (As) menu, at
which point a different shape file name can be given.
Unticking a ticked box will either unintegrate the currently open stitch pattern or reapply the stitch pattern
that was previously applied. In the example on the right, ticking the blank box in front of the "sleeve" piece
will integrate "rosy.stp". Unticking the same box will reinstate "rosyfi.stp". Unticking the "body" piece will
unintegrate the current stitch pattern and leave the field blank.
Unticking a "Garment piece" (see red circle) will dissociate the stitch pattern from this particular piece and
will show it as a Shape-only on returning to the Original Pattern Drafting workspace, while the shape outline
will no longer be shown over the currently open stitch pattern in Stitch Designer.
The Original Pattern Drafting "Integrate" dialogue does not contain the red "x" buttons to unintegrate stitch
patterns as this can be done by ticking and unticking the Garment pieces. All garment pieces are listed and
ticked if stitch patterns have been integrated. Unlike Stitch Designer, all pieces with stitch patters are
ticked. Where no stitch pattern has been selected the entries will be blank, as shown for the "edging" piece
of this shape file.
Ticking a blank box in front of a garment piece in Original Pattern Drafting will either reapply the just previ-
ously unticked stitch pattern, as long as the dialogue has not been closed by clicking "OK", or it will present
the thumbnails view of stitch patterns (See page 433) from which one can be selected.

If an unintegrate action was unintended in Original Pattern Drafting, the previous situation
can be returned to by opening the same file from the most recent list in the File menu, and
choosing not to save the current changes.

Alternatively, clicking the red "x" (see purple arrows) in the Stitch Designer "Integrate" dialogue will
unintegrate any stitch pattern that was integrated. Care should be taken if it is used for a stitch pattern other

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Stitch Pattern Files (Complete)

than the current one as the integration is lost. If this was not intended, selecting "Cancel" or ticking and
unticking the box in front of the garment piece will reinstate the previous integration.

If a stitch pattern that was integrated

has been deleted or renamed its
original name and path will be shown in
red in the "Integrate" dialogue while the
garment piece box will be unticked. The
path and name can be removed by ticking Garment piece box, which will open the Thumbnails dialogue to
select another stitch pattern, clicking "Cancel" if one is not needed at this point, then "OK" in the "Integrate"
dialogue, which will remove the stitch pattern name from the DesignaKnit records. Restoring or renaming
the stitch pattern to its original name will rectify the situation unless a different stitch pattern has been
selected and saved with the garment piece. A different stitch pattern may be chosen by clicking the selec-
tion button to the right of the stitch pattern name.
Shape-only options will be applied if a stitch pattern is removed by using the red "x" or unticking the
Garment piece box. The stitch outline (i.e., the use of double row steps in gentle slopes) may change,
depending on whether the starting position was set differently for the piece with or without a stitch pattern. If
a piece is integrated but View / Stitch Pattern is turned off in Original Pattern Drafting, making it appear like
a Shape-only piece on the workspace, the stitch outline will still be calculated according to the stitch
pattern.
If a garment piece is integrated with a stitch pattern but the Shape-only option is selected in Interactive
Knitting, the stitch outline uses the start direction that is selected in the Shape-only options instead of the
option as it was set in the stitch pattern.

A (different) stitch pattern can be chosen by clicking on the selection button (see red arrows) which will
open the thumbnails view of stitch patterns.
The light blue arrows in the images above point to the method of knitting (See page 430) that was chosen
for that stitch pattern, which is a machine knitting method in the top and hand knitting in the bottom image.
This is informational only and cannot be changed here.

Whether a garment piece is knitted from the Left or Right side for hand knitting is determ-
ined by the method chosen in Options / Method of Knitting (See page 340) and cannot be changed in this
dialogue, as indicated by the greyed out option (see darker blue arrow in the bottom image).

The darker blue arrow in the bottom image indicates the starting position of the knitting
machine carriage. The default setting is CAR (Carriage at Right), but this can be changed to CAL (Carriage
at Left) by clicking on the Carriage position button for each piece. For pieces without integrated stitch
patterns (Shape-only), the default starting position displays only "L" or "R" and this can also be changed by
clicking the button.

An asterisk appears next to

the starting position of the carriage if
the Colour Changer has been
configured 'on' (see pink arrow).
Clicking on the method button while the "*" is shown will result in the message shown here, and the Colour
Changer can be switched off by clicking "Yes". Thereafter its position will be toggled between Right and
Left on clicking the button. If the Colour Changer is required it will have to be ticked in Options / Method of
Knitting as usual.

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 Stitch Pattern Files (Complete)

Integrated garment pieces look different on the Original Pattern Drafting and Stitch Designer workspace,
as shown below for a baby cardigan of which several pieces have been integrated with different stitch
patterns.

The Original Pattern Drafting workspace, on which all the pieces of the shape file can be laid out as shown
above. In this example, back, front pieces and sleeves have all been displayed together, showing the
different stitch patterns they have been integrated with.

The same shape file has been shown in Stitch Designer. The pieces and their respective stitch patterns are
shown here, together with the "Integrate" dialogue, detailing that a different stitch pattern has been applied
to back and front pieces, while the sleeves are not integrated. The images of the front and back pieces
cannot be shown together on the Stitch Designer workspace, as only one stitch pattern can be worked with
and thus displayed.
The easiest way to view the entire garment is in Original Pattern Drafting where all the pieces can be seen
integrated with different stitch patterns. If Original Pattern Drafting is not present, as for the Machine
Standard product level, the pieces have to be viewed in Stitch Designer.

Stitch patterns can be laid out across two or more pieces of a garment in Stitch Designer, where the
garment pieces can be positioned on top of the stitch pattern instead of the other way around.

Transfer
Upload from Knitting Machine 444
Extract 446
Restore 448
Download to Knitting Machine 450
Integrated Download 455

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The Transfer Menu in Stitch Designer contains functions for transferring information to and from the knitting
machine, using the appropriate cable link. Information about the different cable links can be found in
Specific Cable Links (See page 500). Not all cable links can handle downloading or uploading of stitch
patterns, but for those that do the menu options are described below.
The "Extract" and "Restore" options only apply to Brother stitch patterns, knitting machines and PPDs.

Upload from Knitting Machine

Stitch patterns can be uploaded

to DesignaKnit from a Brother
electronic knitting machine, a
Brother PPD (Pattern Program-
ming Device) or a Silver Reed
PE1 Design Controller, as listed
in the image on the left.
On selecting Transfer / Upload
from Knitting Machine the
"Knitting Equipment Selection"
dialogue is opened, from which
the correct equipment can be
selected. Selecting a different
machine from the one currently
selected through Options /
Method of Knitting will change it
for the DesignaKnit session
upon returning to the
workspace.
Clicking the "Setup" button allows different options to be selected for the selected knitting machine (See on
page 349).

After clicking "OK" on the "Knitting

Equipment Selection" dialogue, the
"Stitch pattern upload" screen is
presented, from which the "Setup"
button only allows a different cable
link to be chosen and / or the appro-
priate USB or serial port number to
be established by clicking the "Find
Link" button (See page 499).
Clicking "Upload" will continue the
upload process, and "Cancel" will
return to the workspace. While
uploading an "Uploading"
message will be displayed.
When a Jacquard pattern or a pattern that is created with the Lace tool is downloaded to the knitting
machine memory, DesignaKnit separates the colours beforehand. If that same pattern is subsequently
uploaded, there is no way for DesignaKnit to know how to put the separated colours back together.
Depending on the selected knitting machine, the dialogues that are presented after the knitting equipment
is selected can be different, as shown in their sections below.

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 Stitch Pattern Files (Complete)

Brother electronic knitting machine or PPD

Brother knitting machines contain their own built in stitch patterns, and also have a facility for user patterns
(the 900 series). The built in Brother stitch patterns are located in the knitting machine memory and cannot
be uploaded or downloaded directly. Copies of them are located in the Brother folder within stitch patterns
and can be used in DesignaKnit to create designs. Any built in stitch pattern that is used or amended can
be saved, placing a copy in the stitch patterns folder that can be downloaded as a 900 series user pattern in
the normal way.
Transfer / Upload from Knitting Machine will copy the 900 series patterns to the DesignaKnit stitch pattern
folder, where they will be saved with a .bro file extension. The upload count that is displayed on the screen
refers to the data in kilobytes and not to the number of patterns that is transferred. Before they can be used,
uploaded stitch patterns need to be extracted, using Transfer / Extract (See on the next page), after which
each pattern can be named and saved.
Before downloading any stitch patterns to the Brother KH930, KH940, KH950i or PPD, it is good practice to
upload the existing patterns to DesignaKnit as downloading will overwrite all existing 900 series stitch
patterns, even if only a single pattern is transferred.

When the "Upload" button is clicked after selecting the knitting

machine and establishing the cable link connection, messages
and instructions will be displayed inside the "Stitch pattern
upload" dialogue. Examples are given on the left.

An "Enter
number"
message like
the one shown
on the right
may be
displayed if the PPD for KH900, KH930, KH930M or the 'Extras'
cartridge has been selected and the upload is divided over
different PPD pages (See page 474). After entering the page
number, Upload will proceed and an "Uploading" message will
be displayed.
The Extras cartridge is a separate cartridge that contains read only Brother stitch patterns. These can be
uploaded to DesignaKnit, worked on and subsequently saved as user patterns, but the contents of the
cartridge cannot be overwritten by downloads.

Silver Reed
Stitch patterns can be uploaded, one at a time, from the Silver Reed PE1 unit by using the SilverLink 3
cable link. With the correct pattern in the memory of the PE1, Transfer / Upload from Knitting Machine can
be chosen. The stitch pattern is placed on the DesignaKnit workspace and can be saved for future use by
choosing File / Save As and placing it in the appropriate folder.
Patterns from Mylar sheets can be uploaded into DesignaKnit by first reading them into the PE1 memory,
then using the Transfer / Upload from Knitting Machine menu option.
After selecting the knitting equipment and clicking "OK" on the "Knitting Equipment Selection", the "Stitch
pattern upload" screen is presented, from which the "Setup" button can be accessed to check the cable link
connection or choose a different one (See page 499).

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Clicking on "Upload" presents the "Specify size of

pattern to upload" box into which the size of the pattern
to be uploaded needs to be entered in stitches and
rows. While initially the values are "0", whatever is
typed in here is remembered for future sessions of
DesignaKnit.

After clicking "OK" the message shown on the left

is displayed within the "Stitch pattern upload"
dialogue and upload will proceed as soon as the
instructions are carried out.
During uploading an "Uploading" message will be
displayed.

Extract
Previously uploaded stitch patterns need to be extracted and saved before they can be used in Desig-
naKnit, as their format is otherwise not compatible.

The Extract process is applicable only to Brother 900 series stitch patterns that were uploaded from the
knitting machine.

The Transfer / Extract menu

option in Stitch Designer opens
the "Knitting Equipment Selec-
tion" dialogue shown on the left,
in which the correct knitting
machine or PPD needs to be
chosen. Selecting a different
machine from the one currently
selected through Options /
Method of Knitting will change it
for the DesignaKnit session
upon returning to the
workspace.

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After "OK" is clicked the "Open Brother Batch File" dialogue will open. Any
files that were uploaded will be located here and can be chosen from the list
of names with a .bro extension (see red arrows).
Once Transfer / Extract has been used, the files that were selected are
displayed at the bottom of the Transfer menu and can be chosen from there.
The knitting equipment that was last chosen will be highlighted for every file
that is chosen and needs to be checked and changed if necessary.

Each .bro file can contain one or more stitch patterns to be

extracted, which is evident after the file has been selected
and "OK" has been clicked. The file shown here contains
20 different stitch patterns.
The "Uploaded patterns" list displays all the available
patterns in number order, starting with 901. For each
pattern the number of stitches and rows is given, making it
easier to find a pattern of a particular size.
The stitch patterns to be extracted may be selected by
clicking the "Select All" button, which will highlight all of
them, or they may be chosen individually by clicking on
each pattern in turn. Holding the "Ctrl" key while clicking
will add each file to the selection, or holding down "Shift"
will select all the files between the first and last one
chosen.
A count is kept of the number of highlighted files, which in
this example is 12. Clicking the "Clear" button will deselect
all files.

The "Inverted left to right" button

can be ticked to reverse the stitch
pattern, which has the effect as
shown on the left.

The "Inverted needle selection"

button can be ticked to swap over
the selected and deselected
needles, resulting in the colours
being swapped, as illustrated on
the left.
A combination can be made of
Inverting left to right and needle

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Stitch Pattern Files (Complete)

selection. However, this will not work for some stitch pattern types, as described below.
Brother KH970 - When extracting uploaded 900 series patterns which were originally downloaded as
unseparated 3 or 4 colour patterns (see below), the "Inverted needle selection" option is ignored. Patterns
that were originally downloaded as Fair Isle, unseparated 2 colour patterns and 3 or more colour Jacquard
patterns which have been separated by DesignaKnit will carry out the "Inverted needle selection" instruc-
tion.

Jacquard patterns which were separated by

DesignaKnit in the download process ("Download
ready separated" in the "Special option" box) will
be shown in their separated format when they are
uploaded and cannot be viewed as a complete
colour pattern. However, 3 and 4 colour Jacquard
patterns downloaded to the KH970 for separation
by the knitting machine ("Download as an unsep-
arated 3-colour pattern" in the "Special option" box) will upload as complete patterns.

This option appears only in the KH970 download process if 3 or 4 colour patterns are selected (See
page 478).

When "OK" is clicked in the "Uploaded patterns" dialogue with one or more files highlighted, the first of
these will open in the DesignaKnit workspace, together with a "Save As" dialogue (named: "Give Name for
Uploaded Pattern No. n") in which the name of the stitch pattern can be altered and a different location
chosen. DesignaKnit offers a default name, consisting of the first four letters of the batch name, followed by
a "-" and a number, starting from 901. The default location is the stitch patterns folder (C:\Users \username
\Documents \DesignaKnit 9 \Stitch patterns), but this can be changed in File / Default folder. These options
can be accepted as they are or changed and then accepted by clicking the "Save" button.
If more than one stitch pattern was selected the next pattern will open on the workspace, and the "Save As"
dialogue is presented again with the same choices, offering the same name for the file with a sequential
number, exactly as they are numbered in the "Uploaded patterns" list. In this way all files of a batch can
quickly be saved to the correct location.
Any existing Memo information (Memo numbers and Yarn symbols) will be uploaded with the pattern.
However, as a knitting machine can only recognise yarns being different, but cannot differentiate which
specific colours are used, the extracted pattern will display only the relevant number of colours and not in
any particular colour scheme. It will use the colours that are in the current palette.

Memo numbers and Yarn Symbols can be viewed in the View menu, and altered in the Palettes menu of
Stitch Designer.

Restore
The Transfer / Restore menu option is used to restore a previously uploaded batch of stitch patterns to a
Brother electronic knitting machine or PPD, with the exception of the PPD in KH900 mode.

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Transfer / Restore first of all

opens the "Knitting Equipment
Selection" dialogue shown on
the left, in which the correct
knitting machine or PPD needs
to be chosen. Selecting a
different machine from the one
currently selected through
Options / Method of Knitting will
change it for the DesignaKnit
session upon returning to the
workspace.

After "OK" is clicked the "Open Brother Batch File" dialogue will open. Any
files that were uploaded will be located here and can be chosen from the list
of names with a .bro extension (see red arrows).
After selecting the desired file, the "Stitch pattern download" dialogue will
open from where "Setup" may be clicked to check or change the cable link
(See page 499).

Clicking "OK" continues the restore

process, "Cancel" returns to the
workspace.

An "Enter number" box may be displayed if the PPD for

KH900, KH930, KH930M has been selected and the
upload is divided over different PPD pages (See page
474).

After entering the required page number, Restore will proceed

and a message such as shown on the left will appear in the
"Stitch pattern download" dialogue.

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Whereas Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine uses stitch pattern files (with a .stp
extension), Transfer / Restore uses Brother batch files (with a .bro extension).

When batch files are uploaded from a Brother knitting machine or PPD to DesignaKnit, they are given a
name and saved with a .bro extension. These saved batches or the single stitch patterns that they contain
can be restored back to the knitting machine. This allows the user to assemble and keep batches of related
stitch patterns on the computer and put them back in the knitting machine memory whenever needed. This
can be very useful, especially for batches of integrated patterns. E.g., if a stitch pattern is designed for a
specific garment and all of the garment pieces have been integrated with it, the batch as a whole can be
restored to (re)knit the garment.
Having once assembled a batch of stitch patterns and downloaded to the knitting machine, it can
subsequently be uploaded to the computer in its entirety, where it can be given a meaningful name. It is
then safely stored on the computer, ready to be downloaded or restored whenever needed.
Although Transfer / Restore can be used to transfer batches of patterns from one machine to another of the
same type, it cannot be used to transfer to a fundamentally different knitting machine. If this is needed, the
batch must first be uploaded to DesignaKnit from the original knitting machine, the patterns extracted, after
which they can be downloaded to the second knitting machine.

If an attempt was made to restore a batch of stitch patterns to a different type of knitting machine from
the one where it originated, the memory will be corrupt and an 888 procedure (see knitting machine
manual) will need to be carried out to clear it.

Transfer / Restore replaces all patterns that are in the knitting machine's memory for the KH270, KH930,
KH940, KH950i, and PPD, even if only one pattern is restored.
The same procedure adds patterns to the memory of the KH965, KH965i and KH970 one by one and
Transfer / Restore needs to be repeated for each pattern to be restored. For these machines it can be a
good idea to clear the memory of the knitting machine before restoring patterns to it, to prevent the memory
getting too full.
The KH270 and KH965 can use the serial BrotherLink 4 cable link if it is available (it is no longer manufac-
tured because the chips are unavailable) to restore the stitch patterns directly to the knitting machine's
memory. For the KH270, the entire batch of patterns is restored to its memory and all stitch patterns in the
restored batch will keep the original numbers that were assigned to them when they were first uploaded.
For the KH965 a batch of patterns can be downloaded to the serial BrotherLink 4 cable link, but only one
pattern at a time can be transferred into the memory of the KH965. If the serial BrotherLink 4 is not avail-
able, a BrotherLink 3 can be used to transfer the patterns to a PPD.

Download to Knitting Machine

The Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine menu option in Stitch Designer is used to download stitch
patterns to Brother electronic machines and PPD, Silver Reed PE1 and PC10 pattern devices and the
Passap consoles.
The appropriate knitting method must be allocated to the stitch pattern(s) as it will affect the download. I.e.,
a Jacquard or Lace pattern will be separated into multiple carriage passes before downloading (except for
the Brother KH970 (See page 478), for which there can be a choice).
Before starting to download or set up a batch of patterns for download it is important, especially for Fair Isle
patterns, to check that the correct colours have been marked for selecting or deselecting needles.

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 Stitch Pattern Files (Complete)

DesignaKnit only downloads saved files. If the download process is started and the file on the workspace is
not saved at that time, the program will prompt to save it. If the latest version is needed, then clicking "Yes"
will ensure this happens. If "No" is clicked, DesignaKnit will continue with the version of the stitch pattern
that was last saved.
On selecting Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine the "Knitting Equipment Selection" dialogue, similar
to the one shown for Transfer / Upload from Knitting Machine (See page 444), displays a list of knitting
machines that the patterns can be downloaded to. Selecting a machine that is different from the one
currently selected will change it for the DesignaKnit session upon returning to the stitch pattern.

Changing the knitting equipment sets it for all parts of DesignaKnit, not just the individual stitch pattern.

Unless it is known that the setup (knitting machine, cable link and port number) is correct, the "Setup"
button should be clicked from which the "Find Link" button (See page 499) should be clicked in order to find
the correct port number to establish communication between computer and knitting machine.
Depending on the selected knitting machine, the dialogues that are presented after the knitting equipment
is selected can be very different, as shown in their sections below.

When the "Knitting Equipment Selection" screen is

returned to, "OK" can be clicked and downloading can
proceed, which displays a download progress bar, as
shown on the left, in the "Stitch pattern download" dialogue.

Brother
Before starting to knit a downloaded pattern, the knitting machine must be programmed with the number
that has been allocated to the downloaded pattern in its memory. At that point it is the knitting machine's
console and the carriage settings, not the computer, that dictate how the needles are selected.
Either a single pattern or a batch of patterns can be downloaded in one operation to all Brother electronic
knitting machines and PPD modes, with the exception of the KH965i and KH970 which will only accept
patterns one at a time.

After the setup options have been selected and "OK" is clicked on the
"Knitting Equipment Selection" dialogue, the next dialogue, depending on
the knitting machine, allows selection of stitch patterns to assemble a batch,
as shown on the left.
If a single pattern is too big to fit in a single memory page, DesignaKnit will
ask which section is to be downloaded (See on page 474).
Although DesignaKnit maintains the list of files when a batch is downloaded, it can be useful to print a copy
of it for future reference in case this list is changed, as the pattern number that is on the list will be the one
allocated by DesignaKnit. Keeping a record can be done by clicking on the "Copy All" button that appears
on the "Assemble Batch of Patterns" dialogue, and pasting the result into a word processor to be saved and
printed if necessary (See page 477).

Where download takes place to a knitting

machine with its own memory or a PPD, the
warning shown on the right may be displayed
after selecting the patterns.

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Clicking "OK" overwrites, while clicking "Cancel" returns to the workspace to allow the user to Upload the
existing patterns first (See on page 444).

Downloading or restoring to the KH270, KH930, KH940, KH950i or PPD will erase all the 900 series
patterns that are in the memory, even if only one stitch pattern is downloaded. Downloading or restoring
to the KH965, KH965i and KH970, will add to the 900 series patterns. The knitting machine will offer the
next available unused 900 series number for the new pattern.

Clicking "OK" on "Assemble Batch of

Patterns" or "Knitting Equipment Selec-
tion" displays the "Stitch pattern
download" dialogue.
This may contain additional instruc-
tions such as the one shown here, and
presents another opportunity to click
"Setup" in order to use "Find Link" (See
page 499).
Clicking "Download" will proceed with
download, while clicking "Cancel"
abandons the process, returning to the
workspace. Downloading may, depending on the selected knitting machine and other circumstances lead
to display of further instructions within the "Stitch pattern download" dialogue, such as the messages
shown in grey on the left hand side of the images below, or further warnings and suggestions in separate
messages as shown by the images on the right hand side.

Whatever the status of the Colour Changer in DesignaKnit the pattern itself will be downloaded with the
needle selection configured for normal knitting. At knitting time, the 'Negative' button on the knitting
machine should be switched on to reverse the needle selection for knitting with the Colour Changer. The
Colour Changer option should concurrently be switched on in Interactive Knitting to generate the correct
yarn changing instructions.
It is not possible to download to the PPD if the Stitch Pattern Extras cartridge is installed (See page 480).
More information can also be found in Upload & Download (See page 475).

Silver Reed
Patterns can only be downloaded to the PE1, one at a time (See on page 488).
The PE1 can accept Jacquard colour patterns with a maximum of 5 colours per row. Colour separation
methods A to D and F can be defined in Options / Method of Knitting by going to the "Setup" menu and
selecting "Jacquard", according to preference.

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Method B is preferable if a highly detailed colour pattern needs to be downloaded. The Check menu option
in Stitch Designer can be used to ensure the colours will separate correctly. Method B results in fewer
errors than other methods, therefore fewer corrections will be necessary and more fine detail is preserved.
The Stitch DesignerView / Yarn Numbers & Feeders menu option can be used to rearrange the yarn order
if necessary.
If Memo information (See Palettes / Memo in Stitch Designer) needs to be transferred to the PE1, method
D may be preferable. In the stitch pattern, numbers 1 to 7 can be assigned to the colours that are used in
the design. The PE1 will not recognise numbers 8 and 9. If method D is used, the screen instructions for
downloading are slightly different and include pressing the "F3" key on the PE1 to indicate Jacquard
knitting.

Clicking "OK" on the "Knitting Equip-

ment Selection" dialogue, after the
options have been set correctly
displays the "Stitch pattern download"
dialogue, as shown on the left.
Clicking on "Setup" presents another
opportunity to use "Find Link" in order
to change the port number if necessary
(See page 499).
Clicking "Download" will continue the
download process and "Cancel" will
return to the workspace.

Clicking the "Download" button will commence downloading,

displaying instructions, such as shown here, within the "Stitch
pattern download" dialogue as necessary, while clicking "Cancel"
will abandon the process, returning to the workspace. During
download, a "Downloading" message will appear.
Patterns for the PC10 are saved in a specific format and instead of transferring them via a cable link, they
are saved or copied from the computer onto an SD card which can be read by the PC10 Pattern Controller.
The Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine menu option creates a folder on the SD card which can there-
after be used to save stitch patterns to in the specific *.dat format (See on page 487).

Passap
Patterns need to be open in Stitch Designer to be downloaded, one at a time, to Passap knitting machines.

Using the Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine

menu option and selecting a Passap knitting machine
first of all presents the "Enter number" dialogue
shown on the left, where the correct technique
number needs to be entered (See on page 481).
The number entered here needs to match the
number entered on the knitting machine console.

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On typing the correct number and clicking "OK" a box appears

with information about the stitch technique, as shown on the left.

If there is an error in the pattern, DesignaKnit will display an error

message such as the one shown above. This message states
that not all the colours used in the pattern have a Memo number,
which is a prerequisite for downloading. Clicking "OK" returns to
the stitch pattern where the necessary adjustments can be made
before accessing the download option again.
When all goes well, DesignaKnit continues and displays the following "Stitch pattern download" dialogue,
where "Setup" may be clicked to check or change the port number of the cable link (See page 499).
Clicking "Download" will continue the download process and "Cancel" will return to the workspace.

"Download" needs to be clicked to proceed

with downloading the stitch pattern, after
which a message such as the following will
be displayed within the "Stitch pattern
download" dialogue.

The instructions need to be followed to program the knitting

machine console, which will now prompt for a technique
number.
This should be identical to the number used in
DesignaKnit, as otherwise the knitting instructions, and
therefore the knitted result will not make sense.

When the console has been programmed, clicking "OK" on the DesignaKnit
"Stitch pattern download" screen will display the message shown here and
knitting can commence. During download, a "Downloading" message will
appear. The download process has been described in more detail for the
E8000 (See page 485).
As all technique numbers, except the DesignaKnit custom 902 - 904 for the Passap E6000 (See page 483),
are already built into the E6000 console, the Jacquard separation method that has been selected for the
pattern in the Jacquard section of the machine knitting setup is only used for template printouts ("Stitch Pat
template" in Stitch Designer), integrated template printouts in Standard Garment Styling and Original
Pattern Drafting, and Interactive Knitting (where it defines the number of lock passes per row). For
technique numbers 902 - 904, DesignaKnit's Method A sequence of Jacquard yarns will be downloaded to
the E6000 console and used in Interactive Knitting.

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Suppression of blank rows is never used when downloading to or using Interactive Knitting for the Passap.
DesignaKnit will work out the feeder positions for the yarns and the template printout will show the result.
This can also be seen in the View / Yarn Numbers & Feeders menu option.
Downloading to the Passap E6000 machine is only possible if it has the correct chip (See page 483).
The memory of the E6000 is not large, therefore it may be good practice to clear it at the console with the
"ERASE" procedure before downloading new patterns, so that the maximum amount of memory is avail-
able. For more information about the memory of the E6000 (See on page 474).

Integrated Download
An integrated stitch pattern is a stitch pattern to which a garment piece from a shape file has been applied.
More information about integrating shape files with stitch patterns can be found in the "Shapes and Stitch
Patterns" chapter of the Stitch Designer manual.

If an unintegrated stitch pattern is

downloaded to a knitting machine,
DesignaKnit will position the stitch
pattern at the centre of the needle
bed, as it is shown on the Stitch
Designer workspace.
If a shape file is integrated with the
stitch pattern, the shape piece,
rather than the stitch pattern, is at
the centre of the needle bed and the
stitch pattern is shuffled as neces-
sary to be placed onto the shape
correctly, as is shown in the image
on the left. If punch cards or Mylar
sheets are used, the pattern will be shuffled according to the template and the knitting machine does not
need to be programmed. For hand knitting, integrating a shape piece with a stitch pattern means that the
symbols, colour chart and text instructions will start and end in the correct place for each row.
As the position of the integrated stitch pattern may be different for each piece of the shape file, at the Inter-
active Knitting stage, a separately adjusted stitch pattern is downloaded for each integrated piece. Inter-
active Knitting handles one shape file piece at a time, or the stitch pattern itself. The stitch pattern will be
shuffled horizontally and vertically by the required number of rows and stitches before being downloaded,
so that the knitted piece exactly matches the display on the Stitch Designer or Original Pattern Drafting
screen. The downloaded pattern will be at the centre of the needle bed and knitting will commence at row
one of the downloaded pattern, rather than row one of the stitch pattern on the Stitch Designer screen.
In order to use integrated download, a shape file needs to be integrated with a stitch pattern file. This can
be achieved in several ways:
○ A shape file can be opened in Standard Garment Styling or Original Pattern Drafting. It is not neces-
sary to have a stitch pattern associated with the shape file at this point. Clicking the Stitch Designer
button while a shape file is open in one of these sections opens Stitch Designer. If there is no stitch
pattern already active, Stitch Designer will open with the stitch pattern of the active Original Pattern
Drafting shape file piece, or one of the other pieces if the active piece has no stitch pattern. A
Standard Garment Styling shape file does not have a stitch pattern associated with it, unless this is
done in Stitch Designer. If there is a stitch pattern already active in Stitch Designer this will be on its
workspace, and the shape file that was open in Standard Garment Styling or Original Pattern
Drafting will be associated with it. The stitch pattern that is currently open will be the stitch pattern
that will be integrated through Shapes / Integrate, regardless of which stitch pattern may or may not

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have been selected in Original Pattern Drafting. When the shape file is saved through Shapes / Save
Shape File (As), these changes will be applied. Reopening the shape file in Original Pattern Drafting
will show the newly integrated stitch pattern. With this method, integration of shape file and stitch
pattern takes place in Stitch Designer.
○ When a shape file is opened in Original Pattern Drafting, stitch patterns can be integrated with one or
more pieces, by selecting a stitch pattern (using the appropriate Top Toolbar button), then using the
File / Integrate menu option to integrate as needed. Integration then takes place in Original Pattern
Drafting.
○ With a stitch pattern open on the Stitch Designer workspace, a selected shape file can be integrated
by using the Shapes / Integrate menu option. Integration then takes place in Stitch Designer.
Opening and Integrating shape files is also described in the Stitch Designer manual.
Stitch Designer's Transfer / Integrated Download option downloads a version of the stitch pattern for each
piece of a shape file. The pattern is automatically shuffled to the left or right so that the piece is at the centre
of the needle bed, and up or down so that knitting starts on the correct row for the start of the piece.
The stitch pattern is shown with the effect side (right side, outer side) of the fabric facing the user so that the
finished result can be seen. If the integrated pattern is subsequently downloaded to a knitting machine, the
actual stitch pattern, along with the shaping of the pieces, may be flipped horizontally if necessary. This will
be done correctly and automatically by DesignaKnit as long as the appropriate method of knitting has been
set for both the stitch pattern and the knitting machine.
For machines and devices which allow a batch download, as many pieces as the memory will accom-
modate can be downloaded at the same time, but for those which only accept patterns one at a time, each
piece must be selected in turn and the process needs to be repeated for each additional shape piece.
The shape itself cannot be transferred to the machine's memory. However, when downloading an integ-
rated stitch pattern, DesignaKnit takes the knitting method into account and will indicate shaping instruc-
tions and colour changes at the appropriate times in Interactive Knitting. This means that for Jacquard, and
patterns drawn with the Lace tool, DesignaKnit will separate the pattern into carriage (lock) passes and
ensure that the shaping instructions are shown on the correct rows.
With the stitch pattern open on the Stitch Designer workspace, the necessary piece or pieces can be
selected from the correct shape file in the Shapes menu. After the integration options have been set as
required, Transfer / Integrated Download can be accessed, from where the correct knitting machine needs
to be chosen. After clicking "OK" a dialogue is presented in which the integrated stitch patterns can be
selected for download.

For the Brother KH270, KH930,

KH940, KH950i or PPD, all the integ-
rated patterns that need to be
downloaded can be ticked or
unticked. The stitch patterns will be
numbered, starting from "901". If one
of the pieces were to be unticked the
patterns would be renumbered, so
that the batch always starts with 901
and is sequential.
Whether knitting starts and the right
or left side of the bed can be
selected by clicking on the CAR
(Carriage at Right) button, which will
then toggle between CAR (Carriage at Right) and CAL (Carriage at Left).

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Provided the knitting machine or PPD has sufficient memory, the patterns for the pieces will be
downloaded as a batch, one stitch pattern per shape piece. If not enough memory space is available,
DesignaKnit will display an error message, the download will stop and the process will need to be restarted
with fewer pieces ticked. If any single pattern is too large to download in one go, it will be split by Desig-
naKnit and Interactive Knitting will produce informational messages when the next section is to be
downloaded.

For the PC10 the options are the

same, except that the patterns are
numbered sequentially from "1".
They will be saved to the external
SD card and can be taken to the
knitting machine when required.
More information about how to
download stitch patterns to the
PC10 can be found in PC10 -
Pattern Controller (See page 487).

For the Brother KH965, KH965i,

KH970, Passap E6000, E8000, and
Silver Reed PE1, only one integ-
rated pattern can be selected for
downloading at one time.
DesignaKnit will download the stitch
pattern associated with the selected
piece. If the stitch pattern is multi
coloured Jacquard or Lace, and is
too large to download in one go,
DesignaKnit will split the pattern and
produce informational messages in
Interactive Knitting when the next
section is to be downloaded.

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Shape Files (Complete)

Shape Files
Thumbnails 458
File Open 462
File Save 462
File Delete 463

Shape files are used in Original Pattern Drafting, Standard Garment Styling, Stitch Designer and Inter-
active Knitting. How to open, search, sort, save and delete them is described in this chapter, which can also
be accessed from the "Work Flow" section of the manual of each separate DesignaKnit section.

Thumbnails
Search shape files 460
Sort shape files 461

Thumbnails for shape files are accessed by using the Shapes / Thumbnails menu option,
pressing "Ctrl-T" or clicking the "Select piece(s) to display" button on the Top Toolbar.
The dialogue goes directly to the Shapes folder in DesignaKnit, displaying shape files only (*.shp). It offers
much more detail than the File / Open menu option (See on page 462) as it contains at a glance views of
the contents of each shape file.

When viewing this manual on the computer, the cursor may be hovered over the image. Where the
cursor changes to a hand it can be clicked on as a quick way of getting to the relevant section.

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 Shape Files (Complete)

If the name of the required file is known it can be typed directly in the *.shp box at the top and will be
opened on clicking "OK" or pressing the Enter key on the keyboard; typing the .shp extension is not neces-
sary. When a letter is typed in front of *.shp, e.g., C*.shp, the program will display all shape files starting
with C.
If a shape has been designed in Original Pattern Drafting it has a grey background and the number of
pieces in the file is displayed. Standard Garment Styling garments have a blue background and show age
group and gender type. More information on these how colours are used to quickly identify the nature of the
files can be found in Workspace Colours (See page 408).
When a file is clicked on once in the thumbnails area on the right hand side, a larger image of it appears in
the viewing area on the left hand side, in which it is easier to see details. Files that have been designed at
least partly in Original Pattern Drafting will show the individual points that are used. The file that has been
displayed in the example above has been started in Standard Garment Styling, as can be deduced from
the "Adult F" indication, but has also been worked in and saved in Original Pattern Drafting as can be
deduced by the light blue background and the presence of points in the viewing area.

If pieces in a shape file contain stitch patterns this is indicated by a small coloured
icon in the centre of each relevant piece (see blue arrow above). Standard Garment
Styling files do not display the individual pieces of the garment and show one icon
over the shape to indicate that a stitch pattern has been integrated. If all pieces have

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Shape Files (Complete)

been integrated with a stitch pattern, the icon is larger. Original Pattern Drafting displays all the pieces so it
is easy to see which pieces, if any, have been integrated with a stitch pattern.

Details - can be unticked to display only the

shapes with their names. When "Details" is
ticked the file name is displayed, together
with how many pieces there are (if created in
Original Pattern Drafting) or the group the
shape belongs to (if started as a Standard
Garment Styling file), the tensions used and
the date the file was last saved. If unticked,
only the file name is displayed across the
bottom of the thumbnails.

The tensions are shown according to settings in Options / Units of

Measurement, which, for this example were set at "cms" in the
image above and "inches" in the image on the right, resulting in
"T:32x40" and "T:8.13x10.16" respectively.

The zoom in and out function can be used to increase or decrease the size of the thumbnails.
View All - (see fuchsia arrow in the image above) only becomes available after the "Search" button has
been used to exclude some options from the view, e.g., if only Hand Knitting methods were chosen.
Clicking "View All" will display all the files in the folder.

Search shape files

The "Search" button displays the dialogue

shown on the left which can be moved to a
convenient location on the screen by clicking
the title bar (see blue arrow), holding and
dragging the mouse.
On first opening this dialogue all the boxes of
"Age group", "Gender" etc. are ticked so that
all available files are shown. Unticking the
various criteria will limit the search to those
selected plus any files that do not have these
options.
If a shape file has been created in Standard
Garment Styling the criteria of "Age group",
"Gender" etc. are part of the creation process
and can be searched on.
If a shape file has been created in Original
Pattern Drafting these options do not exist
and ticking or unticking any of these options
will not have any effect as the files will display
anyway.
Ticking the box in front of "Embedded text" (see red arrow) makes it available. Entering text in here will
search the Notes that were entered in the Tension dialogue (See page 421) as well as search for file

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 Shape Files (Complete)

names of stitch patterns that may be integrated and background image file names. Clicking "OK" or "Apply"
will present the files that match the search criteria. The text is not case sensitive and only partial text needs
to be entered to search on.
Clicking "Apply" after making the selections will apply the search while leaving the search dialogue on top
for further changes to be made. "Make default" will save the search for the next time. "Reset" will revert to
the system defaults.

The "Make default" option can be very useful. After search criteria have been
entered, and particularly if embedded text is searched on, making this search default ensures that when
the Thumbnails Search dialogue is opened again, the same criteria apply and do not have to be entered
time and again. The "Reset" and "Make default" buttons need to be clicked to revert to the DesignaKnit
default search criteria.
"OK" will apply the search and return to the Thumbnails dialogue.

Sort shape files

The "Sort" option

displays the dialogue
shown on the left which
can be moved to a
convenient location on
the screen by clicking
the top title bar (see
blue arrow), holding
and dragging the
mouse.
There are numerous
ways in which the avail-
able files can be listed
in either ascending or
descending order. The
standard style options
like age group, gender,
garment type etc.
originate from the
Standard Garment
Styling part of Desig-
naKnit.
Selecting the option to sort "By design method" (see red arrow) will show all Standard Garment Styling and
all Original Pattern Drafting garments grouped together for easy perusal.
Once a sort order has been selected clicking "OK" will apply it and exit this box, while "Apply" leaves the
selection box on the screen, allowing different sorting.
The options chosen can be made default by clicking "Make default". These settings are then applied to all
future sorts. If the original DesignaKnit settings need to be reverted to "Reset" has to be clicked, followed
by "Make default".

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Shape Files (Complete)

File Open
An existing shape file can also be opened by using the File / Open menu option which displays fewer
options but is a quick way to access files that are known.
The File / Open menu options from Original Pattern Drafting and Standard Garment Styling or the "Browse
Shapes" button from Stitch Designer all display shape files only (*.shp) with the name and last amended
date of each. When starting to type letters in "File name" the program responds by displaying the matching
records and limiting the selection until the required shape can be chosen by clicking on it and then clicking
"Open".
If the file is at a different location this can be navigated to by using the Windows button to move through the
folders (See also Folders and Paths on page 410).

File Save
When moving from one part of DesignaKnit to another or opening another shape file the program often
prompts to save the current file, even if it is not apparent to the user that changes have been made. This is
to ensure the continuity of the programming.

As with all computer based work, it is always a good idea to save often.

The Save
button on the Left
Toolbar or the File
/ Save menu
option can be
used to save a
shape file. If it has
previously been
saved, this option
will save the file
without further
prompting. If this
is a new file, the
File / Save As
dialogue as
shown on the left
will be displayed
and a new file
name needs to be
typed in (see red
oval). Alternatively
the File / Save As menu option can be used to give an existing file a different name and / or location.
The default "Shapes" folder will be opened, but a different location may be navigated to by clicking the 'Up
one level' button or the down arrow next to the "Save in:" entry box (see red circles). A new location can be
created and specified by clicking the "Create New Folder" button (see blue arrow). The advantage of
creating folders from here is that the new folder will be created in the correct location (See also Folders and
Paths on page 410).
Although the default paths can be changed in DesignaKnit (see the manual in each section to learn how to
do this), it is recommended to create folders that contain shapes underneath the "Shapes" folder as the

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 Shape Files (Complete)

program opens this folder by default when opening and saving shape files. Following this pattern will facil-
itate help desk calls as all files will be in expected locations.

Depending on how many designs are created and for what purpose, folders could be
created for each category of shape file such as: Adults, Furnishings, Samples, Family etc.
This will make it easier to locate specific files and keep them together for the purpose of
backup.

File Delete
Using the File /
Delete menu option
in Original Pattern
Drafting or Standard
Garment Styling
opens the dialogue
as shown on the left,
from which files may
be selected for
deletion.
The options for
showing details,
zooming in and out,
searching and
sorting are identical
to the File / Thumb-
nails options (See
page 458).
The options of
"Delete" and "Close"
(see blue arrows)
are different.
When clicking on a
thumbnail a red
cross appears over
it. Clicking on it again removes it. In this way all files to be deleted can be selected.

Once files are selected the "Delete" or

"Close" button may be clicked, after
which the dialogue shown on the left
appears, showing the first file name in
the list to be deleted.
For each file chosen, DesignaKnit will
present the options for "Yes", "No",
"Cancel" and "All".
Clicking "Yes" deletes the file whose file name is currently shown in the box, after which the next one is
presented with the same dialogue. Clicking "All" deletes all chosen files without further prompting, "No"

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Shape Files (Complete)

leaves the file in place, continuing with the next file if more than one has been selected, "Cancel" cancels
the operation and returns to the Deleting Files screen, leaving options as they were chosen.

Deleting files cannot be undone. When files are deleted from DesignaKnit they do not end
up in the Windows recycle bin but are removed completely.

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 Graphic Files (Complete)

Graphic Files
Thumbnails 465
File Open 468

A wide variety of graphic files can be accessed in DesignaKnit in different ways for different purposes.
Graphic files can be opened and manipulated in both Stitch Designer and DesignaKnit Graphics Studio
after which they can be converted into a stitch pattern. Graphic files can also be used as a background
image in Original Pattern Drafting so that a garment piece may be designed around it. More information
can be found in the various manual of each program section.
How they are accessed is slightly different for some sections of DesignaKnit.

Thumbnails
Search Graphic Files 467
Sort Graphic Files 468

In Stitch Designer, graphic files can be accessed by using the

File / Thumbnails menu option or "Ctrl-T", and selecting "Graphic
Files" from the drop down selection box, as shown on the right.

After selecting "Graphic Files", all

existing graphic files are
displayed in the thumbnails
window. All the file types that are
included in the search are listed in the search box, as shown on the left. The choice of types can be limited
by selecting and deleting all the types that are not required, taking care to select the entire entry from * to ;
as demonstrated here for the .gif file type. Pressing the Enter key will apply the criteria to limit the thumb-
nails display to the selected types, while the search box stays open for further editing. If a file type has
inadvertently been removed it may be typed again to be added and pressing Enter will expand the selection
of thumbnails to reflect the new criteria. If the file type to be looked for is known, the search box may be
emptied by selecting all entries and pressing delete, then typing in the required file type, such as "*.png". If
only one type is searched for, there is no need to type the separator ";".

In DesignaKnit Graphics Studio, graphic files can be

accessed in thumbnail view by using the File / Thumbnails menu
option, holding the "Ctrl" key while clicking the File open button or
"Ctrl-T".
The choice can be narrowed further by clicking the drop down
arrow (see white cursor arrow) and selecting the required file type
in the "Open Graphic File" dialogue.
Choosing the default top option of "Graphic Files" will display all
the types that are listed: *.bmp, *.ico, *.jpg, *.jpeg, *.gif, *.pcx,
*.png, *.tga, *.tif, *.p?m and *.wmf.

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Graphic Files (Complete)

When one or all graphic file

types are selected, a dialogue as
shown on the left will be
presented. In this example the
selection has been limited to
'*.jpg' and '*.jpeg' files.
Clicking on one of the files in the
right hand section will display its
file name in the space below
"Open Graphic File" and its
enlarged image on the lower left
hand side.
When the "Details" box is ticked,
file name, size and date last
saved are displayed on each
thumbnail. Unticking "details" will
leave the file name displayed
over the image, hiding the rest of
the information.
DesignaKnit presents the
contents of the 'default folder'
when opening graphic files. This
folder can be specified separ-
ately for background images in Original Pattern Drafting, but is the normal default folder for Stitch Designer
and DesignaKnit Graphics Studio.
The "View All" button only becomes available after "Search" has been used and some options have been
excluded from the view, e.g., if the images to display have been limited to a certain pixel range. Clicking
"View All" will display all the files in the current folder.

The Zoom options can be clicked on to enlarge or reduce the view of the images. When the zoom
level is at maximum, individual points can be seen on the pieces of Original Pattern Drafting pieces.

If the spectacles button becomes active, it means a high resolution preview of a large
image is available and the button can be clicked on to display it. If the button is greyed out the preview
already shows the highest possible resolution.

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 Graphic Files (Complete)

Search Graphic Files

Initially the "Search options" dialogue is presented with none

of the options ticked and all of the criteria greyed out. To be
able to enter criteria the box in front of it has to be ticked. The
number of pixels refers to the height of the image. When
"Details" is ticked in the "Open Graphic File" dialogue the
thumbnails will look similar to the one shown below. If
unticked, the thumbnail will display an image and the file name
only.

"841 x 729" represents the

size of the image in pixels
(width x height). This
information gives an indic-
ation of the size of the
background image used.
Images resulting from a scanner or camera are larger than
images from a screenshot or clipart. The image size has no connection with the size of the garment that will
be created from it.
The "Search options" dialogue is initially placed outside of the DesignaKnit workspace, and can easily be
moved to a different location.

"Earliest date" and "Latest date" present the user with options to limit the
view to certain dates that the file might have been saved. The dates can
either be typed in or the arrow point can be clicked to open a calender from
which the desired date(s) can be chosen.
Initially earliest and latest date are set to "today's date" and if neither of the
boxes are ticked DesignaKnit will ignore these settings and present all files
that are present in the chosen folder.

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Graphic Files (Complete)

Sort Graphic Files

If there are a lot of image files to choose

from this option provides a way of
presenting them in a logical way. All
options show the thumbnails in the "Open
Graphic File" dialogue in the background.
While "Search" will limit the selection to
the chosen criteria, "Sort" will present all
the files in a certain order: by name, size
of height or width and by date. Sorting
can either be ascending, from A - Z or
earliest date to latest date, or
descending, from Z - A or latest date to
earliest date.
The "Sort options" dialogue is initially
placed outside of the DesignaKnit
workspace, and can easily be moved to a different location on the screen by clicking and holding the title
bar (see blue arrow), then dragging it out of the way..
Once a search or sort order has been selected clicking:

applies the options and exits the "Search" or "Sort" options box.

leaves the selection box on the screen, allowing different searching or sorting.

resets the criteria to the default DesignaKnit options.

will save the options for future "Search" or "Sort" actions.

cancels the "Search" or "Sort", exiting this screen and leaving all options as they were.

opens specific help with "Search" or "Sort".

File Open

In DesignaKnit Graphics Studio, graphic

files can be accessed in file list view by clicking
the button on the Left Toolbar, using the File /
Open Graphic or "Ctrl-O". This will present the
"Open Graphic File" dialogue, part of which is
shown on the right, and is the quickest method
of accessing graphic files. As thumbnails are
generated from graphic files, which are gener-
ally much larger than the DesignaKnit shape
and stitch pattern files, the thumbnails will take
longer to appear on the screen.

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 Graphic Files (Complete)

In Original Pattern Drafting, graphic files can be accessed by clicking the Graphic file image button
(shown here) in the "Background Image Options" dialogue. This will open the same list view of the graphic
files in the folder that was set as default in File / Default Folder for Background Images. Thumbnail view
may be opened by holding the "Ctrl" key while clicking the graphic file image open button in the
"Background image options" dialogue.
The selection may further be limited by choosing one of the file types that are listed. Selecting "Graphic
Files" at the top of the list will redisplay all graphic file types.

In Stitch Designer, "Graphic Files" needs to be

selected from the drop down list after using the
File / Open Stitch Pattern menu option or "Ctrl-
O" which will open the "Open Stitch Pattern"
dialogue, part of which has been shown on the
right.
Because the File name entry is "*.*" (see red
arrow), all the graphic files will be displayed, in
list form. The choice of file types can be limited
by typing in "*.jpg", "*.png" or whichever file type is required in the "File name:" box.

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RGB and HSL (Complete)

RGB and HSL

Colours can be edited in Stitch Designer and DesignaKnit Graphics Studio by adjusting the RGB (Red,
Green, Blue) and HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) values. This chapter explains how these values affect
each other.

Colours can be adjusted in different places in Desig-

naKnit, and the image on the left was taken from
adjusting a colour in a Stitch Designer palette, so
that the concept of RGB and HSL can be clarified.
They are two ways of expressing colours in different
values that also affect each other. Changing any
value in RGB affects the values in the HSL column
and vice versa.
Each value in the RGB column can be set between
0 and 255 to arrive at any colour combination. Any
colour is a mix of these three base values. The 'purest' Red has a value of 255, with Green and Blue set at
0. The 'purest' Blue has a value of 255, with Red and Green set at 0. White is achieved by setting all three
values at 255 and Black by all three values at 0. If specific values are known for a specific colour, RGB can
be the easiest of the two sets to work with. However, if a colour needs to be lightened or darkened, the
easiest option may be to increase or decrease the luminance (Lum) value.

Each value in the HSL column can be set between 0 and

240 to achieve different effects.
Hue refers to the actual colour. In the image on the left, a
bar was used to represent the continuous flow of the
primary colours from the starting point to the end point
which are the same. The bar needs to be thought of as a
continuous and seamless circle where 0 and 240 are both at
the same point. As the primary colours are at equal distances from each other, the value of 80 is Green and
160 is Blue.
Saturation determines how vibrant or dull a given colour is, with 0 meaning no colour at all, resulting in
some kind of grey and the maximum value of 240 displaying the most vibrant version of the current colour
that can be shown.
Luminance affects how light or dark a colour is displayed, with 0 being black and 240 white.
The values of these settings are interdependent, and changing one will affect the others. Examples have
been given in the images below to illustrate the effects at their greatest. Starting with Red in each row, the
HSL values were changed for Hue, Saturation and Luminance in turn, keeping all other values as they
were. This illustrates that the RGB values change with the HSL values.

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 RGB and HSL (Complete)

In the top row, Hue was changed from the initial 0 (239 would have had the same effect as this would be the
'full circle' value), to 80, then 160 to result in the purest Green and Blue respectively. The maximum values
of 255 are the result in the RGB entry boxes.
In the second row, Saturation was changed from the maximum 240 to 0 and 120 respectively, resulting in
grey and a muted version of the original red colour.
In the third row, Luminance was changed from 120 (50%) to 0 and 240 respectively, resulting in black and
white. Whatever colour is started with, a luminance of 0 or 240 will always result in black or white.

Black or White can be achieved most quickly by setting "L" (luminance) to "0" or "240"
respectively, while grey is attained by having identical values in the RGB columns. Lower
identical values result in darker and higher values in lighter shades of grey as they approach
their extremes of black and white.

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Knitting Machines (Complete)

Knitting Machines
Memory considerations 474
Brother 475
Creative 481
Passap 481
Silver Reed 486
Superba 489
Toyota 489

There are various settings that are applicable to different knitting machines. For ease of access, all these
specific properties and behaviours have been collated here, arranged by make of knitting machine. Where
there is a reference to 'Japanese' knitting machines this refers to the makes of Brother, Silver Reed and
Toyota. Instructions for the setup of the different knitting machines have been provided in Machine Knit
Options (See page 345).

Although double bed knitting machines can be used to produce the garments and stitch patterns
created by DesignaKnit, this falls outside the scope of the manual, as DesignaKnit cannot be used to
program the second bed or Ribber.

DesignaKnit can be linked to a wide variety of knitting machines through DesignaKnit cables in order to
download stitch patterns from computer to knitting machine memory or upload stitch patterns from the
knitting machine to the computer. This automates some of the process of knitting and produces relevant
knitting instructions for the Interactive Knitting section of DesignaKnit. More information about available
cable links can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see https://www.softbyte.co.uk/cablelinks.htm) and in Cable
Links Information (See page 497).
DesignaKnit 9 uses 'memo symbols' (see the relevant section in the Stitch Designer manual) to enable
alarms in Interactive Knitting to indicate colour changes, cable crossings, button holes, markers.
Knitting machines need information about shape, colour changes, stitch patterns, stitches, lace, tensions,
when needles need to selected or deselected etc. in order to knit designed (garment) pieces. How this
information gets to the knitting machine varies with each brand and model. Shape and colour changer
information are presented on the screen by Interactive Knitting or can be printed from Original Pattern
Drafting and Standard Garment Styling (See on page 365). Information relating to stitches can be
downloaded to certain machines, or punch cards and Mylar sheets can be prepared from printed
templates.
Non-electronic knitting machines can receive instructions through punch cards or Mylar sheets, which can
be created from a printed template (See on page 390). A KnitLink box and Magnet Arm can be attached to
enable Interactive Knitting. More information about ways to connect computer to knitting machine can be
found on Soft Byte Ltd ( see https://www.softbyte.co.uk/cablelinks.htm).
Certain electronic knitting machines have their own memory in which pattern information is stored. Using a
Cable Link enables downloading and uploading of stitch patterns for some machines, using DesignaKnit.
For machines that do not have their own independent memory cable links can be supplied to connect to the
knitting machine and act as its memory.

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 Knitting Machines (Complete)

Where uploading (to Desig-

naKnit on the computer) and
downloading (to the knitting
machine) are applicable Stitch
Designer can be used to
communicate between Desig-
naKnit and the knitting machine.
Selecting any of the options in
the Transfer menu lists the
possible knitting machines in a
selection window like the one
shown on the left. Only
machines that are able to
upload or download are shown
and can be set up with various
options by clicking on the
"Setup" button.
Information regarding the setup
of knitting machines can be
found in Knitting machine setup (See page 349).

The following menu options are accessible in Stitch Designer only and are
briefly described here to clarify the processes involved in uploading and
downloading stitch patterns.
Transfer / Upload from Knitting Machine (See page 444) is used to
copy custom stitch patterns from the knitting machine to DesignaKnit for
safekeeping and for use in the program. Upload is only necessary if there
are custom patterns present in the knitting machine and is possible only for
Brother electronic machines and Silver Reed PE1.
Transfer / Extract (See page 446) is used to extract custom stitch pattern
files that have been uploaded from a Brother knitting machine (or PPD) to
DesignaKnit. Patterns must be extracted before they can be used in Stitch
Designer. On upload the file name that is saved to will have the extension
.bro. After extracting the pattern(s) the file(s) will have the usual .stp exten-
sion and are accessible for use.
Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine (See page 450) is used to copy stitch patterns from Desig-
naKnit to the knitting machine to use with Interactive Knitting or in case the patterns have been lost or
overwritten in the knitting machine. This is possible for Brother electronic, Passap E6000, Passap E8000
and Silver Reed PE1 machines.
Transfer / Integrated Download (See page 455) is used where a stitch pattern has been integrated with a
garment piece. DesignaKnit will download information to the knitting machine in such a way that the pattern
is correctly positioned in the centre of the needle bed. The difference between "Download" and "Integrated
Download" is that the integrated download involves the selection of a garment piece. DesignaKnit shuffles
the pattern horizontally and vertically to allow for the positioning of the stitch pattern on that piece. The
knitting machine places whatever pattern has been downloaded (integrated or not) in the centre of the
needle bed.
As the position of the stitch pattern may be different for each piece of the shape file, a separate stitch
pattern will need to be downloaded for each piece that has been integrated in Stitch Designer. This process
is possible for Brother electronic, Passap E6000, Passap E8000 and Silver Reed PE1 machines.

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Knitting Machines (Complete)

Transfer / Restore (See page 448) is used to restore a previously uploaded batch of stitch patterns in
case they have been overwritten or otherwise lost. This is only possible for Brother electronic machines.

Memory considerations
If, on downloading a single pattern, it proves to
be too large to fit within one memory area,
DesignaKnit will work out how to divide it in
sections and instructions will be given at the
Interactive Knitting stage as to when to
download subsequent sections.
A message like the one shown on the left will
be displayed. This enables the pattern to be
downloaded in sections, while DesignaKnit
calculates the memory requirements.
Large pattern downloads are more likely to occur in the case of Jacquard knitting where the colours have
been separated. Each pattern row consists of two carriage passes for each colour in that row, which results
in a download that can be several times larger than the actual pattern would suggest. A similar scenario
occurs where a pattern has been created using the Lace Tool.

Selecting "1" will download the first section to the knitting

machine and DesignaKnit puts its own marker into the stitch
pattern to enable it to pick up the rest of the pattern at the
appropriate knit time in Interactive Knitting. An informational
message such as the one shown here will be displayed.
DesignaKnit will prompt to download the next section at the appropriate time with a message on the screen
and an audible alarm if this has been set up.
Specific to each knitting machine make:
Brother - It is possible for a single stitch pattern to be too large to fit in the knitting machine or PPD
memory. If the pattern requires more than 999 passes of the carriage or if the total number of stitches
exceeds the available memory space the knitting machine will display an error and the pattern needs to be
downloaded in sections. The 999 passes limit does not apply to the CK35. The situation of too many
stitches for the available memory is likely to arise for the KH930 and the PPD in KH930 mode.

If a PPD is used and the pattern or batch of patterns is too

large to fit in its memory, an error message will be shown.
Clicking "OK", which is the only option of this dialogue, will
return the user to the workspace from where the process
can be restarted, using a smaller pattern or batch.

If the PPD for KH900, KH930, KH930M, or the 'Extras'

cartridge is selected, a message such as the one shown
on the left will be presented in the event where the pattern
is too large to fit into one page. If the box appears, a PPD
page number will need to be entered so that DesignaKnit
knows which page of cartridge memory download (or
upload) is to be used (See on page 480).
Passap - Regardless of the size of the Passap control unit's memory only one stitch pattern may be
downloaded at a time. The memory areas of the knitting machine are intended to be used to store small

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 Knitting Machines (Complete)

complete patterns. They are not completely independent of each other. When DesignaKnit calculates
whether a pattern will fit into the console memory, it assumes that all memory areas are empty. If a pattern
is too large for one memory area, DesignaKnit will split it into sections and ask which section is to be used.
Although more than one stitch pattern can be stored in any one memory area, it is quite possible that one
stitch pattern is too large to fit. This is easily the case for Jacquard patterns with multiple passes of the lock
and where colour separation is applied.
Silver Reed - The SilverLink 5 can hold data for approximately 16368 carriage passes for stitch patterns
that are no wider than 64 stitches, 8184 passes if the pattern is no wider than 144 stitches, or 4092 passes
if the pattern is wider than this. The number of carriage passes necessary to complete a row of lace knitting
or multiples of Jacquard rows contribute to this total. If the pattern is too large to download it needs to be
downloaded in sections.

Brother
Upload & Download 475
Specific models 477

Brother is also known as Knitking in the US and is classed as a 'Japanese' machine.

Certain Brother electronic knitting machines have their own memory that stitch patterns can be
downloaded to, but it is also possible to download stitch patterns to a Brother PPD (Pattern Programming
Device) or CB-1 (for the KH970). These can then be transferred to the knitting machine memory. For
specific information the knitting machine manual should be consulted.
A PPD is most commonly used to transfer stitch patterns where knitting machine and computer reside in
different locations. Stitch patterns can be downloaded from the computer to a cartridge in the PPD, using
DesignaKnit. The cartridge containing the patterns is then taken to the knitting machine and slotted into the
corresponding slot. A Brother PPD can also be used to design stitch patterns for a Brother knitting
machine. However, DesignaKnit provides easier solutions.

Upload & Download

Stitch patterns can be downloaded to or uploaded from the knitting machine so that the correct needles will
be selected at the knitting stage for a particular pattern. Brother electronic knitting machines have a
memory that can be downloaded to or uploaded from, using one of the cables that can be supplied by Soft
Byte Ltd. Available Brother cable links and information can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see https://www.soft-
byte.co.uk/cablelinksbrother.htm) and an overview of the different cable links in the Brother (See page 501)
section of Cable Links Information (See page 497).

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Knitting Machines (Complete)

"Cable link" lists the available means

of communication between Desig-
naKnit and the knitting machine.
Depending on the model of the knitting
machine the cable links that are
possible will be presented in Options /
Method of Knitting. After a knitting
machine has been selected, clicking
the "Setup" button will present the
dialogue shown on the left from which
a link can be selected, after which the
correct Serial or USB port needs to be
chosen. Preferably, if it is available for
the selected cable link, the "Find Link"
button should be clicked to identify and
locate the correct connection.
Within Stitch Designer the Transfer / Upload from Knitting Machine menu option can be used to transfer
the custom 900 series stitch patterns from a Brother electronic knitting machine or PPD (Pattern Program-
ming Device) to DesignaKnit. The Brother built-in Stitch-World patterns are not accessible for upload but
are supplied in the default stitch patterns folder and can be used throughout DesignaKnit. They can also be
amended, saved into a different folder and downloaded to the Brother knitting machine as custom patterns.
The 900 series pattern numbers are custom patterns which have originated from a different source such as
a PPD, USB device, disk drive or DesignaKnit. If present, they can be uploaded, and indeed should be
uploaded before new custom patterns are downloaded (copied) to the knitting machine as, for many
machines, they will be overwritten (see the individual knitting machine sections below).

The patterns will be uploaded to the default stitch

patterns folder (See on page 410). The "Brother" folder
that was created during installation of DesignaKnit is
reserved for Brother's own copyright patterns and the
error message shown here will appear if an attempt is made to save a stitch pattern here. When saving the
uploaded patterns the user is prompted for a file name, to which the .bro suffix will be added automatically.
After stitch patterns have been uploaded from the knitting machine they need to be extracted by using the
Transfer / Extract menu option which extracts the stitch pattern(s) from the .bro file and gives them the .stp
extension which makes them accessible to DesignaKnit. One .bro file can contain one or many stitch
pattern files.
Within Stitch Designer the Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine menu option can be used to
download stitch patterns to the selected knitting machine or PPD.

Downloading or restoring to the Brother KH270, KH930, KH940, KH950i or PPD will erase all the 900
series patterns that are in the memory, even if only one stitch pattern is downloaded. Downloading or
restoring to the KH965, KH965i and KH970, will add to the existing 900 series patterns. The knitting
machine will offer the next available unused 900 series number for the new pattern.

On downloading the option is presented to either download the current stitch pattern or more files can be
selected to assemble a batch of patterns to download in a single operation. Downloading a batch of stitch
patterns is possible for the KH270, KH930, KH940, KH950i, KH965 and all PPDs.

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 Knitting Machines (Complete)

If batch download is possible, the dialogue

shown on the left is presented. The
dialogue will contain stitch patterns that
were selected in a previous session as
DesignaKnit remembers this information.
As all patterns in a batch will be
downloaded, unwanted entries may need to
be removed and new ones added, including
the stitch pattern on the workspace that
may be intended for downloading at the
present time.
Batches are limited to a certain total
memory size that depends on which knitting
machine has been selected and in any case
up to a maximum of 98 patterns. If the specified batch exceeds the knitting machine memory, an "insuf-
ficient memory" message is given and some patterns will need to be removed.
One or more stitch patterns can be selected by clicking on them, using combinations of holding the "Ctrl"
and "Shift" keys if required to add files to the batch. Additionally, the "Select All" and "Select None" buttons
can be used to change the selection. More information can be found about the download process in
Download to Knitting Machine (See page 450).
If more stitch patterns from different locations need to be added, the "More Files" button can be clicked to
search for and add them.
As soon as one stitch pattern is selected, the "Cut" button becomes available, which enables stitch patterns
to be removed from the list. Care needs to be taken as this action cannot be undone (even by using the
"Cancel" button) and if a pattern was removed from the middle of the list it cannot be placed back there
unless all files after the desired position are cut and added anew.
The "Copy All" button can be clicked to place the contents of the displayed list into the Clipboard. This
allows the list to be copied to an external program, such as a word processor, in order to keep a record of
the pattern numbers for this download. This can be useful as pattern numbers are allocated by DesignaKnit
according to the order in which the files are presented. It is a good idea to copy the list in this way before
using the "Cut" button in case the wrong stitch pattern is cut.
"Paste" adds the contents of the clipboard to the end of the batch. If a list was previously copied to a word
processor file it can be copied from there and pasted straight into this dialogue, where all entries of the list
will be added to the end of the batch. If the dialogue is not previously emptied by using "Cut", this can result
in duplicates of stitch patterns with different numbers, as DesignaKnit allocates a new sequential number to
each file added.
Information regarding troubleshooting Brother uploading and downloading processes can be found on Soft
Byte Ltd (see https://softbyte.co.uk/uploading&downloadingwithbrotherlinks.htm).

Specific models

KH930, KH940, KH950i or PPD 477

Brother KH965i and KH970 478
KH965, KH270 479
PPD in KH900 or KH930 mode 480

KH930, KH940, KH950i or PPD

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Knitting Machines (Complete)

All the 900 series custom stitch patterns will be overwritten when a download to one of these machines (or
a PPD in the mode of one of these machines) is performed. Even if only one pattern is downloaded the
memory of the machine is overwritten.
For this reason it is highly recommended to perform an upload prior to downloading to safeguard the
custom stitch patterns. Provided an upload was performed, inadvertently overwritten or deleted 900 series
stitch patterns can be restored using the Transfer / Restore menu option in Stitch Designer. Otherwise they
will be lost.
Downloading from DesignaKnit into one of these knitting machines will not affect the built in patterns.
If the KH940 or KH950i are used with a BrotherLink 1, they require a blank stitch pattern to do plain knitting
(See page 503).
There is a limit of 98 stitch patterns in a single download.

Brother KH965i and KH970

Patterns are downloaded individually from Stitch Designer and are added to the knitting machine memory.
Existing 900 series patterns should be erased from the knitting machine from time to time to ensure there is
enough memory available for downloading. If the memory is full, download will fail. Before erasing stitch
patterns it is good practice to upload them to DesignaKnit, so they can be downloaded at a future time.
If a BrotherLink 2 cable link is used with the KH970 the height at which the KnitLink box is set on the knitting
machine console may need to be adjusted, using the Magnet Arm platform (See on page 506).
Download process for the KH965i:
○ The pattern to be transferred needs to be open.
○ Using the Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine menu option, the appropriate machine and cable
link need to be selected after which "OK" is clicked.
○ If Transfer / Integrated Download is used the stitch pattern that is integrated with the selected piece
will be downloaded, even if it is not the stitch pattern currently open on the workspace.
○ When clicking the "Download" button in the next dialogue a progress bar will appear until the pattern
has downloaded. It will be allocated the next available 900 series number. If more patterns need to
be downloaded this process needs to be repeated.
Download process for the KH970:
○ As above until the "Download" button is clicked.
○ After clicking "Download" the on screen instructions need to be followed exactly to load the pattern
into the CB-1.
○ When download has finished the CB-1 needs to be switched off and the cable removed from the
socket as Interactive Knitting cannot take place while the downloading cable is connected. More
specific instructions can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see https://www.softbyte.co.uk/upload-
ing&downloadingwithbrotherlinks.htm).

As the KH970 has the facility to separate 3 and 4

colour Jacquard patterns within the console,
DesignaKnit offers a choice when it comes to
downloading. The separation can be handled by
the knitting machine (download as unseparated)
or by DesignaKnit (download ready separated).
The option box shown on the right will be
displayed when downloading 3 or 4 colour

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 Knitting Machines (Complete)

Jacquard patterns. Whichever option is chosen will affect how the knitting machine should be configured
and whether Interactive Knitting can be used.

If an automatic Colour Changer is attached to

the KH970 and configured to 'on' in Desig-
naKnit, it is necessary for every colour in the
pattern to have been assigned a Memo
number in order to drive the automatic Colour Changer. For a 3-colour pattern the numbers must be 1 to 3,
and for a 4-colour pattern they must be 1 to 4. Numbers outside these ranges will produce the warning
message shown on the right. Memo numbers can be adjusted by using the Palettes / Memo menu option in
Stitch Designer.
The option to "Download as an unseparated 3-colour pattern" should be ticked if the colours need to be
separated by the knitting machine. If this is the case, the knitting machine should be set up following the
manual instructions for patterns 479 to 483: both the double length button and the MCRib button should be
ON.
If this method of downloading is chosen, colour changing instructions cannot be followed for Interactive
Knitting or for print outs. Instead, instructions that are displayed on the CB1 must be followed. If the user
wants Interactive Knitting instructions for shaping, the project should be treated as knitting a Shape-only
with a built in pattern.
Users may prefer to bypass the device and use DesignaKnit's configurable colour separation instead, in
which case the "Download ready separated" option needs to be ticked. The advantages of using the
DesignaKnit colour separation are that unused colours may be suppressed in the View / Yarn Numbers &
Feeders menu option in Stitch Designer, and that Jacquard error checking may be done. More detailed
information can be found in the Stitch Designer manual.
If the "Download ready separated" option is ticked DesignaKnit will handle the colour separation, thereby
giving freedom of choice of the method of Jacquard colour separation, as well the ability to allocate specific
colours to specific yarn feeders. When the Interactive Knitting instructions are followed, yarn changes and
(for integrated patterns) shaping instructions will be fully synchronised with the carriage movement and
selection of the needles.
The knitting machine needs to be set up correctly before starting to knit. It should be set up following the
manual instructions as they are for patterns 484 to 498: both the double length button and the MCRib
button should be OFF.

With the "Download ready separated" method, no matter how many colours per row there are after
DesignaKnit has separated them, the CB1 will list the stitch pattern as a two colour pattern.

KH965, KH270
There are a few cable link possibilities for uploading / downloading to the KH965 and the KH270 knitting
machines, all of which can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see https://www.softbyte.co.uk/cablelinks-
brother.htm):
1. The Serial BrotherLink 4 can be used if there is one present. This cable link is no longer manufac-
tured, as the chips for them are no longer produced. If there is no serial port in the computer it has to
be used in combination with the USB Converter (See page 504).
2. It is possible to use the Cartridge Cable (USB BrotherLink 4), although it cannot be used by Desig-
naKnit and instead uses its own software.
3. The recommended option is the BrotherLink 3 with a PPD and cartridge III. Stitch patterns are
downloaded to the PPD cartridge, then the cartridge is taken out of the PPD and plugged into the

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Knitting Machines (Complete)

knitting machine. For the KH270 all the 900 series pattern numbers in the knitting machine have to
be replaced with all those in the cartridge. For the KH965 all patterns have to be transferred individu-
ally from the cartridge to the knitting machine.
4. A slight variation to option 3 would be to use the USB BrotherLink 1 or USB BrotherLink 5, plus the
(inexpensive) PPD Adapter (See page 505), instead of the USB BrotherLink 3. If one of these cables
is already present or needed for a KH930, KH940 or KH950i knitting machine that may also be used,
then this option would make the most sense.
The download process using a serial BrotherLink 4 cable link (and selecting the "Magnetic switch link") is
as follows:
○ Patterns need to be sent to the accompanying Knit Link box by using the Transfer / Download to
Knitting Machine or Transfer / Integrated Download menu option in DesignaKnit.
○ The KH270 can accept a batch of up to 98 patterns in a single download.
○ The procedure then switches to the knitting machine. Press "Load", press "Step", enter the Desig-
naKnit pattern number, press "Step". The display will flash the next available pattern number in the
machine's memory and assigns it to the DesignaKnit pattern. Press "Exec" to accept and transfer the
pattern. The process has to be repeated for each pattern to be transferred.
For the KH965 - It is likely that the numbers do not match and a note needs to be kept as to which Desig-
naKnit pattern number matches which knitting machine pattern number. A batch of patterns can be
downloaded to the serial BrotherLink 4 cable link, but only one pattern at a time can then be transferred into
the memory of the KH965.
For the KH270 - The numbers of the patterns will be identical to the DesignaKnit numbers. All previously
downloaded 900 series patterns are deleted automatically when the new batch is downloaded, so if the
same pattern number already existed it will be overwritten. A batch of patterns can be downloaded to the
serial BrotherLink 4 cable link and on downloading the only option is to transfer the whole batch into the
memory of the KH270.
If the DesignaKnit and knitting machine pattern numbers are required to match, the existing patterns have
to be deleted from the knitting machine, so that the new pattern numbers will start at 901. Provided the
DesignaKnit stitch patterns also start at 901 they will be transferred one on one. The 888 function can be
used to delete any existing 900 series patterns. The knitting machine manual can be referred to for instruc-
tions.
Uploaded pattern batch files (.bro) can be used interchangeably between the KH965 and the KH270 if both
machines are available or if patterns need to be shared between users with either of them. This is true with
the proviso that patterns downloaded or restored to the KH270 cannot be wider than the number of needles
on that machine.

PPD in KH900 or KH930 mode

The PPD's memory is much larger than that of the actual KH900 or KH930 machines and can hold a
number of 'pages' (8 for the 900, 16 for the 930), each of which is the same size as the memory of the
machine. The KH900 machine has 4k of memory and the PPD increases that capacity 8-fold to 32k. When
downloading to the PPD a page number to put the download into can be selected. All information in that
page will be overwritten. Other PPD pages are unaffected.
It is not possible to download to the PPD if the Stitch Pattern Extras cartridge is installed. Extras are extra
Brother patterns that were also published as "Punch card book 5" by Brother and are included in the pb5
folder. Upload is available, but unnecessary as these stitch patterns are already present in the ..\ Stitch
patterns \ Brother folder of DesignaKnit 9.

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 Knitting Machines (Complete)

Creative
Creative are Chinese copies of Silver Reed machines. These machines are not electronic, therefore they
cannot be linked to DesignaKnit by cable. Patterns cannot be downloaded or uploaded. However, the Inter-
active Knitting part of the program can still be used to provide very useful step by step instructions while
knitting.
In addition, a so-called See ScreenLink on PAGE 504 can be used to allow signals to be passed from the
knitting machine to DesignaKnit to match the movements of the carriage with the knitting instructions of
Interactive Knitting.

Passap
Download 481
Technique numbers 481
Specific models 483

The Passap and Pfaff names are used interchangeably or referred to as Passap (Pfaff).
Tensions for Passap machines (See on page 424) refer to stitches and lock (carriage) passes instead of
stitches and rows. Passap machine tensions are measured either horizontally in stitches and vertically in
lock passes per 10 cm / 4 inches, or the measurement of 100 stitches and 100 lock passes is taken.
Passap machines cannot knit two colours simultaneously. Therefore the Fair Isle option is not available
and 2 colour Jacquard should be chosen instead.

Download
Using the appropriate DesignaKnit cable link (See on page 503), stitch patterns can be downloaded to the
Passap E6000 and E8000 console using the Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine or Transfer / Integ-
rated Download menu option in Stitch Designer.
The sequence of colour changes and needle selections is controlled by a 'Technique' number. Technique
numbers determine how many lock (carriage) passes are required to achieve a pattern row and are specific
to each Passap machine. The Passap E6000 and E8000 use different technique numbers. The knitting
machine manual will contain more information about which technique numbers need to be used.
Only one integrated pattern, as defined in the Stitch Designer Shapes / Integrate menu option, can be
downloaded to the knitting machine at a time using Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine or Transfer /
Integrated Download. The stitch patterns allocated to the garment piece are shuffled horizontally and vertic-
ally so that the stitch pattern is centralised on the needle bed.

For Passap machines only 'Download' and 'Integrated Download' are available in the
Transfer menu in Stitch Designer. Upload is not possible.

Technique numbers
Passap (Pfaff) machines use technique numbers to communicate the correct instructions to the knitting
machine. The selected technique number is used to calculate the number of lock passes per row of the
pattern in Interactive Knitting and also affects the knitting direction(s) used for each row, and therefore the
fine detail of the stitch outline for garment pieces. Information about the different technique numbers can be

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Knitting Machines (Complete)

found in the knitting machine manual and are only touched on briefly here. The DesignaKnit technique
numbers are used in order to apply the correct download and Interactive Knitting instructions.
Stitch Patterns are designed in Stitch Designer and need to be downloaded to the knitting machine before
knitting so that the Passap and DesignaKnit agree on how to handle the colour changes and passes of the
lock. If the technique numbers in DesignaKnit and the E6000 or E8000 console are not identical, it will lead
to unexpected and usually unwanted results.
The relevant technique number is shown next to the knitting machine name in the title bar of the main
Original Pattern Drafting, Stitch Designer and Interactive Knitting screens. E.g., [ Passap/Pfaff Electronic
6000 (8K) #196 ].
The default technique number (See page 358) that is configured in the knitting machine setup will be used
for Shape-only pieces. If a stitch pattern is involved, either on its own or integrated with a garment piece, a
different technique can be stipulated specifically for that stitch pattern if required by clicking the Technique
button in the . The default technique number may not be compatible with the intended stitch pattern and will
need to be checked by clicking in the Passap technique number box in the "Machine Knit Options" dialogue
(See page 348). If an unsuitable technique is chosen, an error message to this effect will appear, allowing a
different number to be entered.

The image on the left shows a Passap stitch technique inform-

ation box. As well as appearing in Interactive Knitting when a
Passap knitting machine has been chosen for knitting it will be
displayed in Stitch Designer on selecting a default technique
number or when applying a different technique to a particular
stitch pattern. The box contains information about which knitting
machine, which technique number, how many passes per row
will be used to complete one row on the screen and which colour
sequence will be used.
In this example, Stitch Technique 500 is used and 4 passes of
the lock are needed per row. The colour sequence shows that
there are only 2 colours in this pattern, which are used sequentially: 2 passes for the first colour and 2
passes for the second, after which the sequence is repeated.
Instructions like "500 2 1122" (as for the example above) are embedded in DesignaKnit. Another, more
complicated example is: "195 3 112233", which means that technique number 195 uses 3 yarn colours and
knits them as follows: two passes of the lock (carriage) for colour 1, two passes of the lock for colour 2 and
two passes of the lock for colour 3. This entire set of instructions knits one row of finished fabric, which can
result in very thick fabric.
If a technique number has not already been assigned to a stitch pattern before downloading to the Passap
E6000 machine, the "E6000 stitch techniques" dialogue will appear in which the default technique number
is displayed (See on page 358). If the technique number is changed in this window, it becomes allocated to
the stitch pattern.
When knitting a Shape-only piece in Interactive Knitting, technique number 999 may be used as a code to
bypass the console, in order for pieces to be calculated with a single lock pass per row.

For almost all techniques, one row on the Stitch Designer, Original Pattern Drafting and Interactive
Knitting workspace corresponds with two rows of finished fabric for the E6000, E8000 and Passap
punch card machine.

If a technique number is used that does not double the rows, such as 129, 135, 172, 252, 253, 254 and
255, the number of rows and passes of the lock are the same. These numbers are only used for knitting
methods that do not involve colour separation, such as forRight / Wrong side facing texture methods.

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 Knitting Machines (Complete)

If the Transfer / Integrated Download menu option is used DesignaKnit will show shaping instructions for
the piece to be knitted and will do so at the first pass of the lock on any row where shaping needs to take
place. This can be tricky as the first yarn might not be used at the edge of the piece where the shaping
needs to take place.

Some improvisation may be needed as shaping operations may need to be performed on a

later pass of the lock and not on the first one as per the instructions. It is prudent to make
notes of the row number where shaping is wanted to be consistent throughout the knitting.

Custom techniques, providing high resolution Jacquard, can be downloaded to the E6000. They have
been described in the E6000 link manuals which are available on the Soft Byte Ltd website (https://soft-
byte.co.uk/cablelinkmanuals.htm).

Specific models

E6000 483
E8000 485
Duomatic 80 486

E6000
Instructions for the preparation of the E6000 console can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see https://soft-
byte.co.uk/downloadingwithpassape6000links.htm).
The memory of the E6000 is limited and should not be used for long term storage of stitch patterns. They
can, instead, be stored in the DesignaKnit stitch pattern folder (See Folders and Paths (See page 410))
and downloaded whenever they are needed. It is good practice to erase the memory of the console prior to
downloading a stitch pattern for the current project to ensure that the maximum amount of memory is avail-
able.
The E6000 has memory areas (referred to as A, B, C etc.) that can be allocated to stitch patterns. Each
area is large enough to contain a three or four colour stitch pattern with a total of 26000 stitches (a multi-
plication of stitches and rows). A downloaded pattern cannot contain more than 255 rows. This translates
roughly to being able to download a pattern of 100 stitches by 255 rows, or 180 stitches by 144 rows.
Machines with the newer 32K console chip can download a greater number of patterns into the separate
memory areas than was possible with the 8K chip.
If the Passap 'Form' option is used rather than the DesignaKnit settings to send shaping information to the
knitting machine this will reduce the amount of available memory. DesignaKnit does not take the Form
option into account, so it is good practice to download patterns that are no larger than 26000 stitches in
total if it is used. This limit applies to the E6000 8k console. If the downloaded pattern is too large, Form
information may be lost.
When downloading or printing stitch templates for the Passap E6000, the needle selection for tuck and slip
patterns is not inverted, so that it is not necessary to use the COL.REV option on the E6000 console.
Chip set - To enable communication between DesignaKnit and the knitting machine the knitting machine
console needs to contain the correct chip set. Knitting machines produced after March 1991 (serial
numbers 6025980 or later) or older machines where the chip has been upgraded will have the right set.
Knitting machines with a serial number of 7037001 or higher will also contain the newer 32K chip. To
determine the current chip set the console needs to be disconnected from both knitting machine and
computer. Then the programming procedure (Power on, wait until the WAIT message disappears. Press
the key with 3 triangles pointing right until it says PROGR if necessary, then press ENT, ENT and the

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Knitting Machines (Complete)

required cast on number, ENT, NO) needs to be followed as far as ST.PATT A, after which the unlabelled
key and "0" need to be pressed. If the console contains the newer chip "ERR 213" will be displayed. More
information can be found in the first section on Soft Byte Ltd (see https://soft-
byte.co.uk/downloadingwithpassape6000links.htm).
Stitch patterns can be downloaded to the E6000 knitting machine console one at a time, by using the Desig-
naKnit E6000 Link 1 or Link 2. The first option allows download only whereas the Link 2 enables commu-
nication through Interactive Knitting as well.
After a download from DesignaKnit is complete the console prompts for a technique number, which should
be identical to the number used in DesignaKnit, otherwise the knitting instructions will not make sense (See
on page 481).
○ A three colour technique can use numbers 195 - 206 (not 219 - 230)
○ A four colour technique can use 207 - 218 (not 231 - 241)
○ The comment in the E6000 manual that numbers 195 - 218 should be used for small patterns only
can be safely ignored. The different number ranges (195 - 218 / 219 - 241) represent different ways
of separating the colours and the lower range makes better use of the available memory. The higher
range is in fact a duplication of the lower.
○ Technique numbers 902 - 904 are custom DesignaKnit technique numbers to accommodate
Jacquard separation for each pair of rows in the same way as for other knitting machines.
Download process:
○ Ensure the physical setup is correct, linking computer and knitting machine in the correct way for the
selected cable link.
○ Ensure there is enough memory available in the knitting machine to allow for the pattern to be
downloaded. Using the 'Erase' procedure at the knitting machine console to clear the memory is
good practice.
○ The stitch pattern to be downloaded needs to be opened in Stitch Designer and the settings checked
in Options / Method of knitting. If necessary the positions of the yarn feeders can be displayed and
changed using the View / Yarn Numbers & Feeders menu option. This option needs to be unticked
after use to be able to access the Transfer menu.
○ Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine or Transfer / Integrated Download can be selected from the
menu to start the download process.
○ After selecting the correct knitting machine and technique number from the next dialogue, a
summary box is displayed listing technique number, passes per row and colour sequence. Clicking
"OK" will present the next dialogue from which the port number can be changed if necessary.
Downloading will start on clicking "Download" in this screen, after which the knitting machine console
has to be prepared.
○ The knitting machine will display "PC START" when "0" is pressed on the console. When
"Download" is subsequently clicked in DesignaKnit the console message should change to "WAIT"
and a progress bar displays the progress of the download, which should take a maximum of four
minutes for a large pattern. After the download is complete the console should read "ALTER" to
which "NO" should be replied. Then the correct technique number (identical to the technique number
in DesignaKnit) needs to be entered. If knitting is to take place from the screen with Interactive
Knitting "NO" should be replied to the next console message "ENLARGE / POSITION". Ensure that
the work will fit inside the limits asked for by the console with regards to the left and right needle
positions.

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It is possible that downloading large patterns will result in a memory full error and may need to be split by
the user into two or more sections. For most Passap techniques this is handled automatically but for the
new Jacquard techniques (See page 483) this must be done manually.
Knitting a single pattern repeat across the full needle bed:
The Passap E6000 knitting machine has a total of 179 needles on the front (patterning) bed: 90 needles on
the left side, and 89 on the right side. In spite of there being more needles on the left, downloaded patterns
with an odd number of stitches are centred to the right. This is a characteristic of the E6000.
This curious feature means that if ever a colour pattern is needed to extend over all 179 needles, a 180
stitch pattern should be created. Stitch 1 of the pattern will be on left needle 90, and stitch 179 on right
needle 89, but stitch 180 of the pattern is not actually knit. This is because if a colour pattern having 179
stitches was downloaded, that pattern would be centred to the right and therefore appear from left needle
89 to right needle 89, with the rightmost stitch corresponding to the non existent right needle 90 and there-
fore not knitted. The pattern on the leftmost stitch of the colour pattern would appear on left needle 89,
while left needle 90 is unused.

E8000
Instructions for the preparation of the E8000 console can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see https://soft-
byte.co.uk/downloadingwiththepassape8000links.htm). The E8000 Link cable links (See on page 503)
enable downloading of stitch patterns as well as Interactive Knitting.
Stitch patterns must be downloaded one at a time or, in the case of integrated patterns, one piece at a time.
Depending on the memory available, the console may be able to accept several patterns that are
downloaded separately.
If the Control unit displays an error message during the download process, this may be because there is
not enough available memory for the current pattern. One or more patterns will need to be deleted from the
console to free up memory space after which the download can be attempted again.
Download process:
○ Ensure the physical setup is correct between computer and knitting machine, with the locks at the
start position (or at least not opposite the red spot on the KnitLink box).
○ The stitch pattern to be downloaded needs to be opened in Stitch Designer and the settings checked
in Options / Method of knitting.
○ The sequence of the colours is controlled by the "Memo" numbers. Each yarn has its own Memo
number and the total amount of memo numbers must equal the maximum number of colours in a
row. For a four colour stitch pattern the numbers 1 to 4 can be used, for a three colour pattern
numbers 1 to 3. The numbers can be reused when the pattern switches to different colours, never
exceeding the total number of colours set in the stitch pattern method of knitting.
○ Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine or Transfer / Integrated Download can be selected from the
menu to start the download process. After selecting the correct knitting machine and technique
number DesignaKnit requests that the E8000 console is programmed until it shows “ON THE PC,
SELECT KNIT A PATTERN”. Downloading can start after the knitting machine console has been
prepared.
○ On the E8000 console "ProgS" needs to be selected, after which a memory sector number has to be
entered (e.g., 1) followed by pressing the large ENT key. "3" has to be entered to indicate 'from ROM
(read only memory)'.
○ The correct technique number has to be entered by using the cursor down key to navigate to the right
place, after which it can be entered and the ENT key pressed to accept it. "4" needs to be selected
next to indicate 'from PC'.

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○ The cursor down key needs to be used to navigate to the place where a design number can be
entered. This can be a number of choice to identify the design in DesignaKnit, after which the ENT
key is pressed. It is recommended that this number forms part of the DesignaKnit 9 stitch pattern file
name for easy identification. The design numbers should be limited to numbers between 3000 and
4000.
○ After going through this process the console should now read "ON THE PC, SELECT KNIT A
PATTERN" to indicate the knitting machine is ready to accept a download. The "OK" button in Desig-
naKnit and the large ENT key on the console have to be clicked and pressed in turn, within 2
seconds of each other. If the keys were not pressed within 2 seconds of each other "4140" is
displayed on the E8000 console and the procedure needs to be retried.
○ When all goes well "PATTERN BEING TRANSFERRED" is displayed on the E8000 and a progress
bar fills in DesignaKnit as the stitch pattern is transferred. The time taken for the transfer depends on
the size of the pattern.
○ The console can be programmed with further stitch patterns in the same manner, starting from the
point of "4" (from PC). If a Passap technique is used that requires two patterns, one for the Back and
one for the Front bed, the E8000 console will request the second pattern. If the second pattern is also
to be downloaded from the PC, the procedure needs to be followed from the point of "4" (from PC).
○ If a laptop is used, it can be taken to the knitting machine for downloading stitch patterns, but if the
knitting machine is remote from the computer the E8000 console can be detached from the knitting
machine, taken to the computer where the pattern(s) can be downloaded to it, then taken back to the
knitting machine. Great care needs to be taken to plug in the E8000 Serial link (see http://soft-
byte.co.uk/CableManuals/E8000_1_2_ser.pdf) or E8000 USB link (see http://soft-
byte.co.uk/CableManuals/E8000_1_2_USB.pdf), as otherwise the processing board of the console
might be destroyed.

Duomatic 80
If a Duomatic 80 is used, the Passap Punch card machine needs to be selected in Options / Method of
Knitting.

Silver Reed
Upload & Download 487
Specific models 487

Knitmaster, Silver Seiko, Studio (as they are sold as in USA and Canada) and Singer (as they are sold as in
South Africa and Australia) are all names that can be grouped under Silver Reed, which originates from the
UK Knitmaster brand. Silver Reed is classed as a 'Japanese' machine.
Silver Reed is the only knitting machine that can automatically knit Intarsia electronically, using the AG50
Intarsia carriage.
Although Silver Reed electronic knitting machines do not have their own memory, Interactive Knitting can
be done by using a Silverlink cable link (See page 500). This enables communication between DesignaKnit
and the knitting machine and will act as the knitting machine memory.
The Silver Reed PE1 and the PC10 have their own memory. The PE1 has a memory that DesignaKnit can
download to using the SilverLink 3, after which the patterning can be controlled by that device. The PC10 is
similar but instead of downloading via a cable, DesignaKnit can create a special PC10 file on a memory
card, which can be inserted into the PC10 connected to the Silver Reed carriage.

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Upload & Download

The Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine menu option in Stitch Designer is used to download stitch
patterns to the Silver Reed PE1 and PC10 pattern devices. The correct cable link needs to be in place to
take advantage of this possibility for the PE1. For the PC10 the DesignaKnit computer needs an SD card
slot to be able to transfer the pattern from computer to knitting machine.
For Silver Reed electronic machines the SilverLink controls the needle selection during knitting. If the
status of the colour changer is changed in DesignaKnit the needle selection will be adjusted immediately.
When using the SilverLink 4 and 5 there may be a slight delay while the pattern reloads.
In order to upload patterns they have to be in the memory of the knitting machine. This is possible for the
PE1 and the PC10 as they have independent memory.
With the exception of the Silver Reed AG50 Intarsia carriage which is specially designed for Intarsia
knitting, Intarsia patterns cannot be downloaded. The AG50 carriage connects to DesignaKnit like a
standard Silver Reed SK840 carriage, with the needle selection being controlled by the SilverLink. There is
a brief download stage in which the needles to put the yarn over are preselected. DesignaKnit works out
which needles are selected for which colours. There may be multiple passes of the carriage for each row.
Downloaded stitch patterns are placed in the centre of the needle bed. To control the pattern area the point
cams of the knitting machine can be used to 'move' the location of the pattern. The movement of the
carriage can be kept to a minimum by keeping the point cams close to the needles that are worked. This
can be done for every row if desired, but the point cam that is nearest the carriage must never be moved or
the pattern will shift sideways. This could be at the right or left hand side depending on where the carriage
is at the time.

Specific models

EC1 - Electronic Card Reader 487

PC10 - Pattern Controller 487
PE1 - Design Controller 488

EC1 - Electronic Card Reader

If there is no cable link the EC1 can be used with SK560, 580, 830, 840, 860, 890 machines. This unit reads
Mylar sheets or punch cards that are fed into it to transfer stitch patterns to the knitting machine. Desig-
naKnit can print out the necessary templates for these cards or sheets Integrated template (See page 390)
and the EC1, which is linked to the knitting machine carriage by a 'Curl cord' can read them.
If the SilverLink 4 or 5 cable link is used, DesignaKnit can communicate directly with the knitting machine
through the cable link which is attached to the 'Curl cord', in which case the EC1 unit is not necessary.
The EC1 can be used as a power source for the serial Silverlink 3 cable link, which plugs into it and the
PE1.

PC10 - Pattern Controller

Patterns for the PC10 are saved in a specific format and instead of transferring them via a cable link, they
are saved or copied from the computer onto an SD card which can be read by the PC10 Pattern Controller.
If the card is not the one supplied with the PC10 it must first be formatted using the PC10 in order to be able
to read the files. The computer needs an SD Card (not micro SD) slot, or an external card reader, for this
feature to be used. PC10 files (with a .dat extension) will be visible along with other pattern files when
opening them as Thumbnails (See page 433) or through the File / Open Stitch Pattern menu option.

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The procedure of transferring a stitch pattern from DesignaKnit to the Silver Reed PC10 device is as
follows:
○ An SD card has to be inserted into an available slot on the computer, or into an external card reader
which is attached to the computer.
○ Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine in Stitch Designer is used to select the "Silver Reed PC10
(*.DAT files)" option. This option will transfer the stitch pattern that is currently open in Stitch
Designer.
○ Clicking "OK" opens the file explorer window to enable selection of the location of the memory card.
DesignaKnit creates a "D000" folder in preparation for receiving stitch pattern files.

○ After this preparation, individual patterns

can be copied to the SD card by using the
File / Save As menu option, selecting the
correct location and the .dat extension from
the drop down list. The pattern will be
converted and saved on clicking "OK".
DesignaKnit can present some information
screens, such as shown on the right.

○ If more than one pattern is transferred to this folder the program will allocate sequential file names,
starting with "SR00000.DAT". Note that SR00000.dat is the pattern that DesignaKnit allocates the
number "1" to, as in the image above.
○ The memory card has to be inserted into the PC10 device of the knitting machine and the correct
stitch pattern number selected to start knitting with this pattern.
Uploading from the PC10 device is possible by inserting the SD card into the computer (or external card
reader attached to the computer) and copying the .dat files into a folder using the normal Windows copy
commands. The recommended location to copy files to is "Documents \ DesignaKnit 9 \Stitch Patterns
\Silver Reed". This can be done to keep a safe copy of the PC10 patterns on the computer.

PE1 - Design Controller

Stitch patterns can be uploaded one at a time from the PE1 to DesignaKnit using the SilverLink 3 (See
page 500). The pattern to be uploaded must be in the PE1's memory, which can be achieved by reading a
Mylar sheet from the EC1 into it. With the PE1 connected to the computer where DesignaKnit is installed,
the Transfer / Upload from Knitting Machine menu option can be used. This results in the stitch pattern
being placed on to the Stitch Designer workspace immediately from where it can be given a name and
saved for future use by choosing the File / Save As menu option. Care needs to be taken to use the .dat
extension if this pattern is to be downloaded to the knitting machine again at some point.
The procedure for downloading a stitch pattern to the PE1 is as follows:
○ The computer needs to be linked to the knitting machine with a SilverLink 3. The USB SilverLink 3 (or
serial with a USB Converter) connects the PE1 to a USB port on the computer. The power to the PE1
is supplied through the USB port. A serial SilverLink 3 connects a serial port on the computer, the
PE1 and the EC1. In this case the EC1 supplies the PE1 with power.
○ The stitch pattern needs to be open in Stitch Designer.
○ Transfer / Download to Knitting Machine or Transfer / Integrated Download needs to be selected
from the Stitch Designer menu after which the correct knitting equipment needs to be chosen. This is

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either "PE1 + machine" or "PE1 + machine + AG50", depending on whether the Intarsia (AG50)
carriage is used.
○ Clicking "Download" starts the download process.
○ When download is complete the EC1 needs to be switched off and the SilverLink removed if the
serial SilverLink 3 has been used. The EC1 and PE1 then need to be connected with their original
cable. After loading the appropriate pattern number from the PE1 knitting with the downloaded
pattern can commence.
Patterns that are wider than 60 stitches or have more than 150 rows will be downloaded in sections. Desig-
naKnit will prompt to press the "=" key on the PE1 device if more than one section is necessary. After
downloading the PE1 will beep, briefly display "COMPLETED", beep again and show "OK".
The PE1 memory can contain only one pattern at a time. There is a special non-standard memory card for
the PE1 that can store a lot of patterns. It assigns its own number to a downloaded pattern at the time of
saving it onto the memory card. However, this card cannot be read by a computer or normal card reader.
If method D is used for Jacquard colour separation, the screen instructions for downloading include
pressing the F3 key on the PE1 to indicate Jacquard knitting.

Superba
Superba knitting machines do not have an independent memory and their configuration is such that a cable
link is not possible. DesignaKnit allows selection of this machine for designing garments in Standard
Garment Styling and Original Pattern Drafting and stitch patterns in Stitch Designer, but download or
upload of stitch patterns is not possible. A ScreenLink (see http://softbyte.co.uk/CableManuals/Screenlink_
USB.pdf) can be used to enable Interactive Knitting.

Toyota
Toyota machines are not electronic and cannot be electronically linked to DesignaKnit by cable, except for
the ScreenLink (see http://softbyte.co.uk/CableManuals/Screenlink_USB.pdf). Patterns cannot be
downloaded or uploaded. However, the Interactive Knitting part of the program can still be used with the
ScreenLink in place, to provide very useful step by step instructions while knitting. Toyota is classed as a
'Japanese' machine.

Even though Toyota is not an electronic machine, Interactive Knitting can be used when the ScreenLink
is installed.

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Colour Changer
Examples 491
Numbers and Letters 492
Fair Isle and Colour Changer 493
Carriage position 494
Memo numbers 495
Warning messages 495

The different buttons shown here are used to represent the

Colour Changer for different knitting machines. Clicking on the button where it appears will toggle its "On"
and "Off" state and a red cross is superimposed when it is switched off. Brother, Silver Reed and Passap
icons are shown respectively in their 'on' an 'off' state.

The Colour Changer can be switched on and off in the "Machine Knit Options" dialogue for each
stitch pattern (See page 347), by clicking the "Use of Colour Changer" button on the Stitch Designer palette
(shown to the left), or by clicking its button in the Interactive Knitting Left Toolbar if it is present. The button
is absent in Interactive Knitting for Intarsia patterns as the Changer cannot be used for this method.

The state of the Colour Changer is a property of the stitch pattern.

Depending on the method of knitting, yarns are threaded into the carriage feeders as follows:
○ For Shape-only pieces, which are knitted in one colour, the yarn will be threaded through the front
feeder of the carriage.
○ Fair Isle & Thread lace are the only techniques where two yarns can be in the front and rear carriage
simultaneously. Where a pattern has two colours in a row, that area will be recognised as Fair Isle.
When a Colour Changer is used the 'main' yarn is threaded through the front feeder, while the
contrast yarns are waiting in the Changer to be picked up and fed to the rear feeder. If there is an
obvious choice of main colour, such as one colour that exists on every row in the stitch pattern, and
the Colour Changer status is changed, the needle selection will be inverted automatically. If the
selecting colour also has the Thread Lace symbol applied, the appropriate instructions for this will be
generated in Interactive Knitting.
○ Jacquard works with each colour separately. When a Colour Changer is used, each yarn is fed from
the Changer to the rear carriage feeder in turn, as needed.
○ Right / Wrong side facing texture methods are based on the currently used yarn being fed to the rear
feeder. A single opaque colour in each row specifies the actual yarn colour, while transparent colours
can be used for memo purposes. Smart Symbols determine the selection of the needles. When a
Colour Changer is used each yarn is picked up and fed through the rear carriage feeder as required.
When a Colour Changer is used, yarns on selecting needles are directed to the front carriage feeder and
yarns on deselecting needles are in the Changer, to be fed to the rear carriage feeder at the appropriate
times. The needle selection status of yarns can only be changed for Fair Isle patterns by using "Ctrl-E" to
swap the selection status of all yarns or by clicking the selection indicator for individual yarns in the Palette.
Switching on the Colour Changer can invert the needle selection indicators in the Stitch Designer Palette
for Fair Isle patterns if there is a single obvious main colour and the needle selection assignment is wrong
for the current Colour Changer status. The needle selections are not affected by changing the Colour
Changer status for Jacquard and Right / Wrong side facing texture methods.

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DesignaKnit presumes that a Colour Changer has four positions to take yarns and the Interactive Knitting
screen shows the positions of the different yarns for each row.

Examples
The examples on the left show a Fair Isle
stitch pattern in the Interactive Knitting
"Yarns" window, that is to be knitted on a
Brother KH965. The top image shows the
Colour Changer in use with three yarns in the
Changer which is indicated by the preceding
"CC" at positions 3, 2 and 1, while one yarn is
in feeder B (front feeder), as indicated by
"FB". The Aubergine yarn from the front
feeder is worked at the same time as one of
the yarns on the feeder, which is Turquoise
on position 3 in this example.
If 4 tension wires are available for Fair Isle,
one of them is used for the main yarn which is
fed through the front feeder, leaving the
contrast colours to be threaded through the
Colour Changer and changed over to the rear
feeder as required, by displaying a Hand symbol next to the yarn that is to be used next (see top image). If
more tension wires are available and the option is ticked (See page 350), all positions on the Colour
Changer, up to a maximum of 4, can be used in addition to the front feeder.
The bottom image shows the same Fair Isle pattern for which the Colour Changer has been switched off.
The front and back feeder have swapped position in the "Yarns" window and there are now only two yarns,
one on the front (B) and one on the back (A) feeder.

For Jacquard, Stitch Designer shows

the Yarn sequence numbers when
Yarn Numbers & Feeders are
displayed, while Interactive Knitting
shows both sequence number and
Colour Changer position if a Changer
is in use.
If a Changer is in use, all yarns are
taken from the Changer and fed to the
rear feeder on the knitting machine
carriage in their turn, while the front
feeder is unused.
If the Colour Changer is on, the
positions are preceded by CC in the Interactive Knitting "Yarns" window, otherwise they show J and a
sequence number. Switching the Changer on or off reverses the sequence that is shown so that the order
is descending when a Changer is in use and ascending when it is not.
The yarn sequence number is shown in the top left hand corner (see red circle), and the positions on the
Colour Changer below the yarn blocks. For a 6 colour Jacquard pattern, as demonstrated above, 6 yarns
are shown and when the Colour Changer is switched on, 6 Colour Changer positions are shown (top

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image), even though the physical Changer may only have 4 positions. If there are only 3 colours in total in a
3 colour Jacquard pattern, only 3 positions will be shown.

Right / Wrong side facing texture methods are knitted with texture rather
than colour. If the pattern contains just one colour, the "Yarns" window will not
appear. However, if the pattern contains bands of colour in addition to the
texture patterning, the "Yarns" window will show the colour that is knitted in
the current row.
In this example, a Right side facing texture stitch pattern that contains three
colour bands as well as texture symbols is used to demonstrate. The top
image shows the "Yarns" window with a Colour Changer in use and the
bottom without. The Changer positions are given only when a changer is in
use, otherwise there is no indication as only one yarn is used at a time and
the normal feeder will be used.
There is no option to use a Colour Changer for Intarsia knitting.

Numbers and Letters

The combination and order of numbers and letters of the Yarn Numbers & Feeders in Stitch Designer are
different for different makes of knitting machine, as described below.

○ Silver Reed, Creative, Plain Knitters - Fair Isle patterns display the front
feeder (F2) as well as the colours that are fed from the Changer if one is in
use. The latter are displayed as CC, followed by a letter in ascending order
from left to right. Carriage feeders F2 and F1 are displayed if a Colour
Changer is not in use. Jacquard patterns display "J" with the yarn sequence
number whether or not a Changer is in use. The number of yarns that is
shown depends on the number of colours in the pattern as well as the avail-
able positions. A Fair Isle pattern that has more than two colours in total can
display up to four colour positions. A 6 colour Jacquard pattern will display 6
yarn positions, while a 3 colour pattern will display 3 positions if there are 3 colours in total, but up to
4 positions will be used if there are more than 3 colours in total. The Silver Reed Colour Changer in
single bed mode has a front feeder to carry a second yarn, which is the background colour. The
images on the right depict, from top to bottom, a Fair Isle pattern with and without a Colour Changer,
followed by a 3 colour Jacquard pattern. Jacquard patterns are displayed in the same way in Stitch
Designer whether a Colour Changer is in use or not. It is not possible to access Yarn Numbers &
Feeders for the Silver Reed + AG50 and an error message will appear to this effect if it is attempted
(see below).

○ Brother, Superba, Toyota, NovaKnit - Fair Isle patterns display the front
feeder (FB) as well as the yarns in the Changer if one is in use. These are
indicated by CC, followed by a number in descending order from left to right.
The descending order matches the numbering of the physical Changer. If the
Colour Changer is switched off, only the carriage feeders FB (front) and FA
(back) are shown. Jacquard patterns are represented as described in the
Silver Reed section above. "J" is displayed, followed by the yarn sequence
number in ascending order from left to right, whether a Colour Changer is in
use or not. From top to bottom. the images on the right show a Fair Isle
pattern with a Colour Changer, without one and a 3 colour Jacquard pattern.

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○ Passap - As these knitting machines

cannot do Fair Isle and handle Jacquard
in their own way, it is not possible to set
the Yarn Numbers & Feeders in Desig-
naKnit. An error message, as shown on the right, will appear when attempting to access Yarn
Numbers & Feeders while Passap or Silver Reed + AG50 knitting machines are selected.
The colour sequence for Jacquard patterns in Stitch Designer signifies the sequence of the yarns and not
the feeder positions, so the columns are labelled J1, J2 etc. as shown above, whether a Colour Changer is
in use or not. For other knit methods the columns are labelled F1, F2 (Silver Reed) or FA, FB (Brother) if the
Colour Changer is switched to 'off', where F is a reminder that these numbers or letters are Feeders and
not Colour Changer positions.

A Fair Isle pattern has been used as an example to produce the images on the
left, where for each machine, the Yarn Numbers & Feeders have been shown
without and with a Colour Changer respectively.
If a Colour Changer is in use for methods other than Jacquard, there is a mixture
of letters and numbers in Yarn Numbers & Feeders. Silver Reed carriage
feeders are labelled 1 and 2, while Silver Reed Colour Changer positions are A
to D, as shown on the left. When a Fair Isle pattern is knitted on a Silver Reed
machine with a Colour Changer, the main yarn goes to front feeder 2 on the
carriage and the contrast yarns to rear feeders A to D on the changer, as
required. If there were only 3 colours in total, only front feeder F2 and Changer
feeders A and B would be used. In this example, the pattern contained enough
colours to use all 4 Changer positions. The yarns are swapped between feeders as necessary.
Brother knitting machines use A and B for the feeders and 1 to 4 for the Changer positions. The main yarn
of a Fair Isle pattern goes to front feeder B on the carriage and the contrast yarns to back feeder positions 1
to 4, as required.
Yarn Numbers & Feeders have been described in detail in the Stitch Designer manual (Manipulating stitch
patterns chapter).

Fair Isle and Colour Changer

As changing the Colour Changer status has different consequences for downloading, printing and Inter-
active Knitting procedures for Fair Isle patterns on different machines, the different scenarios have been
described below.
General - a Colour Changer can only be used for Fair Isle on a Japanese knitting machine (See page 472)
if all the colour changes take place on odd numbered rows and a warning will be given if needed. If they are
on even numbered rows, the carriage is in the wrong position to take a new yarn from the changer.
Brother Electronic Knitting Machines, PPD, Silver Reed PE1 - whatever the status of the Colour
Changer, Fair Isle stitch patterns will be downloaded as if the Colour Changer were off because, once
downloaded, there is no way of telling whether it was on or off at the time of downloading. If the Colour
Changer is switched on for knitting by clicking the Colour Changer button in Interactive Knitting, the
'Negative' switch on the knitting machine or device should also be used.
If a pattern was saved with the Colour Changer on, the yarn instructions in Interactive Knitting will be for the
Colour Changer, but the 'Negative' switch on the knitting machine or pattern device still needs to be used to
make the selection match the Interactive Knitting instructions. If, at the knitting stage it is decided not to use
the Colour Changer, the button can be clicked off and the yarn instructions will be for the normal carriage
feeders. The pattern can then be knitted as downloaded, without using the negative switch.

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If a Fair Isle pattern also contains bands of other techniques, Interactive Knitting will give reminders of
when to set the negative switch to 'on' or 'off'.

Silver Reed Electronic Knitting Machines - the way in which the needles select will be determined by
the status of the Colour Changer in the Interactive Knitting screen. If the pattern was saved with the Colour
Changer on, it will be opened in this mode and the pattern will be downloaded via the SilverLink to match. If
the Colour Changer is subsequently switched off in Interactive Knitting by clicking its button so that a red
cross is superimposed, the pattern will be downloaded with the selection changed back to normal Fair Isle.
If a SilverLink 4 or 5 is used there will be a pause while the pattern that is held in the box is replaced.
If more than four tension wires are available, four contrast colours can be threaded into the Colour Changer
and the fifth tension wire can be used for the front feeder yarn.
Toyota and other Punch Card Machines - if the Colour Changer is configured 'on' at the time of printing
a template for the punch card, the needle selection for the card will be arranged for use with the Colour
Changer. If it is configured 'off' at the time of printing, the needle selection will be arranged for use with the
normal carriage. When a punch card or reader template is printed for a Fair Isle pattern, there is an option
to invert the printout so that it agrees with the Colour Changer setting.

Carriage position
Although Brother and Silver Reed Colour Changers are both at the left side of the bed, they work differ-
ently. For Silver Reed, the Yarn select button needs to be pushed when the carriage is at the right side
before the yarn is returned to the Changer. For Brother, the Yarn select button needs to be pushed when
the carriage is at the left side.

During knitting, the physical carriage must be on the same side as the on
screen carriage in the "Piece Overview" progress window in the top right
hand side of the Interactive Knitting workspace. The carriage position is
determined as follows:
○ If a Colour Changer is configured "on", its position is determined by the side the Colour Changer
needs the carriage to be on, which is determined by:
• The type of Colour Changer that is used and to which side of the Needle bed it is attached. For
example, Japanese machines have the Colour Changer on the left hand side, while the Passap
Changer is on the right hand side.
• The colour separation method used for Jacquard knitting methods, which is configured
independent of the knitting machine.
○ If there is no Colour Changer or it is configured "off ":
• When knitting a swatch, its position is controlled by the "Start swatch with CAL" setting in the
knitting machine setup.
• When knitting a Shape-only, it is controlled by the "Start which side" setting in Options / Shape-
only.
• When knitting an integrated garment piece, it is controlled by the "CAL" setting in File / Integrate
in Original Pattern Drafting or Stitch Designer, or by the Knit Direction Indicator in the Top Toolbar
in Original Pattern Drafting, or by the setting of the Colour Changer in the Transfer / Integrated
Download or the Shapes / Integrate menu option in Stitch Designer.

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page 494

 Colour Changer (Complete)

Memo numbers
If required, the Colour Changer positions of yarns can be influenced by using Memo numbers in Stitch
Designer. Apart from the Colour Changer needing to be in use, there are certain other factors that will influ-
ence how this will work:
○ Memo numbers need to be assigned to all the used colours in a pattern. Any number of colours can
be in the palette but only colours that are used in the pattern will be taken into account.
○ The memo numbers need to be sequential, so if numbers 1, 2 and 3 are used, this will work, if
numbers 1, 2 and 4 are used it will not as '3' is missing. At least one of the used colours must have '1'
assigned as a Memo.
○ If a Colour Changer has 4 positions, sequence numbers of 5 and higher will be ignored.
○ If there are only 3 used colours in a pattern memo numbers 1, 2 and 3 should be assigned, regard-
less of whether the Changer has 4 positions.
○ Fair Isle - main yarns will be on selecting needles and will be threaded in the front carriage feeder,
while contrast colours will be on deselecting needles and fed through the rear feeder.
○ Jacquard - will show the yarn sequence in Stitch Designer (J1, J2 etc.) and the Colour Changer
positions (CC1, CC2, CCA, CCB etc.) in Interactive Knitting.
○ Right / Wrong side facing texture methods - if Memo numbers are user assigned, all yarns that are
used in the pattern, whether they are knitted or used as memo yarns (transparent) must have a
number in order for the user allocations to be recognised.
More detailed information and examples of each method are given in the Stitch Designer manual in the
Palettes chapter (Memo Numbers).

Warning messages
Informational messages will be displayed on
downloading, printing, checking or knitting the
pattern if the Colour Changer settings do not
match with the stitch pattern. For example,
the message on the right was displayed for a
stitch pattern with the Wrong side facing
texture method of knitting and colour changes on even numbered rows. After clicking "OK" actions can be
taken to correct the settings. For Passap machines, this error message will not happen for stitch patterns
with an even number of rows as well as a stitch technique with an even number of lock passes per row. For
example, the check will happen for technique 129 on a Passap E6000, which uses a single pass of the lock
per row on the screen, but not for technique 130 which uses 2 passes for the same row.
The state of the Colour Changer automatically determines the side of the needle bed at which the first
knitting row occurs, and thereby the starting direction - and for those machines that pre-select the needles,
the side at which the carriage must start the first pre-selection row. This can affect the stitch layout on
gentle slopes (where the slope is more horizontal than vertical) by changing where double row steps occur.

When the Colour Changer is switched from

'off' to 'on' the starting position of the
carriage may be changed, and a "*" will
appear after the CAR or CAL, which can be
seen when accessing File / Integrate menu option in Stitch Designer. Whether the carriage is on the Left or
Right depends on the knitting machine. The "*" appears to indicate that the starting position is determined
by the Changer and not the user. When the knitting direction is changed by clicking the CAR* or CAL*

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Colour Changer (Complete)

button, the message shown here will appear so that the Colour Changer can be switched off if necessary.
The same warning will be displayed for pieces with Fair Isle patterns if the starting direction is changed in
Original Pattern Drafting by using the Knit Direction Indicator while the Colour Changer is 'on'.

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page 496

 Cable Links Information (Complete)

Cable Links Information

General setup 498
Specific Cable Links 500
ScreenLink 504
USB Converter 504
PPD Adapter 505
Magnet Arm 506

Cable links are physical connections between a computer that runs DesignaKnit and a knitting machine to
enable communication between them. Electronic, manual and punch card knitting machines can all be
linked with varying degrees of interactivity. Cable links make it possible to upload and download stitch
patterns, and enable Interactive Knitting.
Which cable link can be used depends on the knitting machine as each electronic machine uses its own set
of instructions, while manual or punch card machines need a different setup. Soft Byte Ltd can supply cable
links to attach to Silver Reed, Brother (Knitking) and Passap (Pfaff) machines as well as to punch card and
manual machines.
Electronic knitting machines with their own built in memory can use cable links to transfer stitch patterns.
Some knitting machines with their own solutions for memory, such as a PPD (Pattern Programming
Device) for Brother or PC10 (Pattern Controller) for Silver Reed can do the same. Knitting machines
without memory can still be linked by using a Magnet Arm and KnitLink detector box arrangement to enable
Interactive Knitting.
Non-electronic machines can be linked to DesignaKnit using a ScreenLink (See page 504), which is a
Magnetic Switch Link to make use of the Interactive Knitting part of the program.

Soft Byte Ltd can only guarantee the correct functioning of and provide technical support
for its own cable links.

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Cable Links Information (Complete)

The communication between DesignaKnit and the knitting machine can consist
of downloading (light blue arrows) and / or uploading (dark blue arrows) stitch
patterns. Interactive Knitting is possible in all cases to receive feedback from
the knitting machine so that DesignaKnit can provide instructions for the next
row of knitting.
Each knitting machine model has its own configuration and needs a specific
setup in order to communicate with DesignaKnit. The components that can be
involved in each setup are:
○ Cable sets - to physically plug into computer and knitting machine.
○ USB converter - Used with all serial cable links on computers that only
have USB connectors.
○ PPD Adapter - (See on page 505).
○ Knitlink detector box (the small black box with a red spot on it) and
Magnet Arm (See page 506) - Used together to detect the movement of
the carriage from the knitting machine in order to exchange information
between knitting machine and DesignaKnit to enable Interactive
Knitting, even for non-electronic machines.

General setup
Cable links can be serial or USB. The serial cables are used with a USB Converter (See page 504) on
computers that have only USB ports, which is the case on most all modern computers that use operating
systems from Windows XP onwards.
Whether a USB cable link is used or a Serial cable link with a USB Converter, a driver may need to be
installed or it may already be installed. Windows is very likely to find this itself if the computer is connected
to the internet at the time of plugging in the cable link. Alternatively, the driver may be installed manually.
The procedure is described in the documentation that is provided with the cable link.
In both cases the virtual serial port is set up automatically, except for the Serial BrotherLink 1 and 3, which
need to be configured manually by going to the Windows Device Manager, finding the correct port number
and entering this in DesignaKnit.

The correct Cable link for the knitting

machine can be selected from the drop
down list (see blue arrow) in the dialogue
that is accessed through Options /
Knitting Machine or Options / Method of
Knitting in the menus of Original Pattern
Drafting, Standard Garment Styling,
Stitch Designer or Interactive Knitting.
After clicking on "Setup" in the "Machine Knit Options" or "Select Knitting Machine" dialogue the "Cable
link" information can be accessed (See page 349).
If the cable link is listed in the drop down list it can simply be chosen. Alternatively, the "Magnetic switch
link" option can be selected. In the example above a Silver Reed knitting machine has been chosen,
displaying different possible options in the drop down box.
Serial Cable links that are also Magnetic Switch links can be found by DesignaKnit using the "Find Link"
button in the knitting machine Setup.

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page 498

 Cable Links Information (Complete)

It is important to select the correct type of link as described in the manual for the individual cable link.

When the link has been selected, the

correct "USB or serial port number"
needs to be entered. This can be done by
clicking the "Find Link" button, which will
open a "Search" dialogue (see below) in
which a range of port numbers to be
searched can be specified.
Alternatively, the number can be entered
manually by typing it in or by using the up and down triangles next to the port number.

Clicking the "Find link" button opens a dialogue in

which a range of possible ports can be specified,
after which clicking on "Start search" should find the
correct port number.

This will be displayed in the same dialogue (detail

shown on the left), together with instructions if
required. The "Cancel" button will have changed to
"OK", which can be clicked to proceed.

Once the port number has been found or typed in and "OK" has been clicked DesignaKnit will set the
number to match the cable link location and remember this setting for future sessions.

If the port number cannot be detected by

the "Find link" procedure, which will
happen for the serial BrotherLink 1, serial
BrotherLink 3 and Serial E6000 Link 1,
the number needs to be identified and
entered manually. A message to this
effect will appear.
The port number that is used in Windows
needs to be entered in DesignaKnit and can be found in several ways, depending on the Windows version.
E.g., through Control Panel, System, Hardware or by right clicking 'My computer' (or 'This PC'), Properties
(or 'Manage'), Device manager. The USB to Serial converter will be listed as 'USB-to-Serial Port (COMn)'
or similar description, where 'n' is a number. This number needs to be entered in the "USB or serial port
number" box (see blue circle).

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Cable Links Information (Complete)

When uploading or downloading

stitch patterns in Stitch Designer,
the port number can be changed if
necessary. This can be done
through the Transfer / Upload from
Knitting Machine, Transfer /
Download to Knitting Machine or
Transfer / Integrated Download menu options. Depending on which option is chosen, a list of knitting
machines may be presented from which one can be selected, "Setup" clicked and the relevant link and port
number selected, or a dialogue in which the USB / Serial port number is already presented (see blue
circle). This can either be accepted by clicking on the "OK" button lower down in the dialogue or "Setup"
can be clicked to change it.

If the information is not correct there will be no communication

between DesignaKnit and the knitting machine and an error
message such as shown here will be displayed.

When filled in correctly uploading and downloading of stitch patterns, as well as Interactive Knitting
become possible, depending on the capabilities of the knitting machine.

Soft Byte Ltd(see https://softbyte.co.uk/cablelinkstroubleshooting.htm) can be visited for

troubleshooting issues with any of the cable links.

Specific Cable Links

Silver Reed 500
Brother 501
Passap 503

Manuals for all available cable links can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see http://www.softbyte.co.uk/cablelink-
manuals.htm). Each online manual contains images and a description of the cable link, instructions of how
to fit it, how to install and update the drivers and how to use the cable link with Interactive Knitting, as well
links to trouble shooting pages.
Tables with the capabilities of each cable link in relation to the relevant knitting machines or devices are
provided below. More information can be found on each specific cable link by clicking its link, which will
access the relevant Soft Byte Ltd. web page. Only the first instance of each link to the website is given.
When a cable link is chosen, the 'Cable link' field (See page 349) will only provide the relevant options.
'Magnetic Switch link' is included in all cases and is the only option for a number of links. It needs to be
selected if a ScreenLink (See page 504) is used.

Silver Reed
SilverLink 1 and 2 will only work reliably under Windows 95 and earlier. They are no longer available new
and have been superseded by the SilverLink 5. "SilverLink" is represented by "SL".

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page 500

 Cable Links Information (Complete)

SR knitting Interactive
Cable Link Upload Download
machines Knitting

SK830 / SK840 /
SK860 / SK890 / SL4 serial or USB
No Yes Yes
Knitmaster 550 / SilverLink 4
560 / 580
SL5 USB
No Yes Yes
SilverLink 5
SL3 serial
PE1 Yes Yes No
Serial SilverLink 3
SL3 USB
Yes Yes No
USB SilverLink 3
SL3 Plus (USB) Yes Yes Yes

Brother
"BrotherLink" is represented by "BL".

Interactive
Brother Cable Link Upload Download
Knitting

BL3 USB, requires PPD Yes, via

KH270 Yes, via PPD No
USB BrotherLink 3 PPD

BL3 USB Plus, requires PPD Yes, via

Yes, via PPD Yes
USB BrotherLink 3 Plus PPD

BL4 serial Yes Yes Yes

BL4 USB (Plus) *** Yes, via Yes, via
Yes
USB BrotherLink 4 CartUtil CartUtil

BL1 serial or USB

Yes, via
KH900 USB BrotherLink 1 Yes, via PPD No
PPD
Serial BrotherLink 1
Yes, via
BL3 USB Plus + PPD Adapter Yes, via PPD Yes
PPD
Yes, via Yes, via
BL4 USB (Plus) *** Yes
CartUtil CartUtil
BL5 USB Yes, via
Yes, via PPD Yes
USB BrotherLink 5 PPD

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Cable Links Information (Complete)

Interactive
Brother Cable Link Upload Download
Knitting

KH930 BL1 serial or USB Yes Yes No

BL3 serial or USB.
Both require PPD adapter Yes Yes No
Serial BrotherLink 3
BL3 USB Plus
Yes Yes Yes
Requires PPD Adapter
BL5 serial or USB Yes Yes Yes
KH940; KH950i BL1 serial or USB Yes Yes Yes*
BL3 serial or USB or USB Plus
Yes Yes Yes
All require PPD adapter
BL5 USB Yes Yes Yes*
Yes, via
KH965 BL3 Plus USB, requires PPD Yes, via PPD Yes
PPD
BL4 serial Yes Yes Yes
Yes, via Yes, via
BL4 USB (Plus) *** Yes
CartUtil CartUtil
KH965i BL1 USB Yes Yes No**
BL2 Serial
Superseded by the USB Yes Yes Yes
BrotherLink 5
BL4 serial Yes Yes Yes
BL5 serial or USB Yes Yes Yes
KH970 BL1 USB Yes Yes No**
BL2 Serial Yes Yes Yes
BL3 USB Plus
Yes Yes Yes
Requires PPD Adapter
BL4 serial Yes Yes Yes
BL5 serial or USB Yes Yes Yes
PPD with CK35
cartridge or
BL1 serial or USB Yes Yes No
cartridge III in
KH900 mode

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page 502

 Cable Links Information (Complete)

Interactive
Brother Cable Link Upload Download
Knitting

BL3 serial or USB

Yes Yes No
Both require PPD adapter
BL3 USB Plus
Yes Yes Yes
Requires PPD Adapter
BL5 USB Yes Yes Yes
PPD in mode for
KH270, KH930,
BL1 serial or USB
KH930M, KH940, Yes Yes No
Both require PPD Adapter
KH950i, KH965,
KH965i, KH970
BL3 serial or USB Yes Yes No
BL3 USB Plus Yes Yes Yes
BL5 USB + PPD Adapter Yes Yes Yes

* The KH940 and KH950i have a KC setting on the carriage. Brother intended this to allow for choosing
between plain and pattern knitting. For BrotherLink 1 users who want to do Interactive Knitting it is neces-
sary to use the KC setting, even for plain knitting, for which a blank pattern has to be downloaded.
** With the addition of a Magnet Arm (See page 506), the BrotherLink 1 USB is converted to a BrotherLink
5 USB, enabling Interactive Knitting on these machines.
*** The USB BrotherLink 4 (Plus) is also referred to as the Cartridge Cable. It is necessary to use the
CartUtil program to download, although the file that is downloaded is prepared by DesignaKnit.

Passap
All versions of the Passap cable links are treated as Magnetic Switch Links, including the USB E6000Link
1, which is not supplied with the Magnet Arm. DesignaKnit can detect the port number automatically by
clicking on the "Find Link" button (See page 499).

Interactive
Passap Cable Link Upload Download
Knitting

E6000Link 1 serial
E6000 No Yes* No
Serial E6000Link 1
E6000Link 1 USB
No Yes* No
USB E6000Link 1 & 2
E6000Link 2 serial
No Yes* Yes
Serial E6000Link 2
E6000Link 2 USB No Yes* Yes

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Cable Links Information (Complete)

Interactive
Passap Cable Link Upload Download
Knitting

E8000Link
E8000 USB E8000Link 1 & 2 No Yes Yes
Serial E8000Link 1 & 2
ScreenLink
Duomatic 80 punch
USB ScreenLink No No Yes
card machine
Serial ScreenLink

* Only later or updated models of the E6000, with the correct chip set (See page 483), can accept
downloads.

ScreenLink
This cable link is available in USB (see http://soft-
byte.co.uk/CableManuals9/Screenlink_USB.pdf) and
Serial (see http://soft-
byte.co.uk/CableManuals9/Screenlink_ser.pdf)
versions and enables Interactive Knitting for almost
any knitting machine, although it does not allow
uploading to DesignaKnit or downloading to the
knitting machine. The "Magnetic switch link" option
has to be selected in the Knitting Machine Setup
(See page 349) in order to make use of this link.
More information can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see https://www.softbyte.co.uk/cablelinksscreenlink.htm).

USB Converter

From DesignaKnit 9 onwards, all serial cable links use a USB Converter
to connect to a USB port on the computer.

A USB converter is needed in cases where the cable link has a serial
connection and the computer only has USB ports. Where more than one
knitting machine is present, the USB to serial converter can be switched
from one machine to the other as needed, so providing a more economical
use of existing (older) serial cable links.
The USB to Serial Converter as supplied by Soft Byte Ltd is suitable for the
following serial links: BrotherLink 1, BrotherLink 2, BrotherLink 3, Brother-
Link 4, BrotherLink 5, Passap E6000 Link 1, Passap E6000 Link 2, Passap
E8000 Link, ScreenLink and SilverLink 3.
It is not suitable for use with the discontinued SilverLink 1, SilverLink 2,
Superba electronic link and Singer Link.

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page 504

 Cable Links Information (Complete)

The 'Serial' end plugs into the serial cable link while the 'USB' end plugs into a USB port on the computer.
The USB Converter needs to be installed as described in its manual in order for it to be recognised by the
knitting machine.
The USB Converter that is supplied by Soft Byte Ltd has been specifically selected to work well with the
DesignaKnit serial cable links. Although other USB to serial converters can be obtained, it is highly recom-
mended to purchase a Soft Byte Ltd USB Converter as the cable link serial ports are not standard and this
converter has been thoroughly tried and tested with the appropriate DesignaKnit cable links.

A link to the latest driver for the USB Converter can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see https://www.soft-
byte.co.uk/usbconverter.htm). More information can also be found on USB Converter (see http://soft-
byte.co.uk/CableManuals/USBtoSerial.pdf).

Converters other than the Soft Byte Ltd. supplied ones cannot be supported.

PPD Adapter
This is a short cable which attaches to the small 8-way connector end of the USB or
Serial BrotherLink 1, the USB or Serial BrotherLink 3 or the USB BrotherLink 5 and
extends the capabilities of these cables in a cost-effective way if there is more than one
kind of Brother machine or PPD to be worked with.
The possible combinations are listed below.
○ Serial BrotherLink 1 converts to & from Serial BrotherLink 3
○ USB BrotherLink 1 converts to & from USB BrotherLink 3
○ USB BrotherLink 5 converts to & from USB BrotherLink 3 Plus

Either the real BrotherLink 1 (serial or USB) or the USB BrotherLink 5 needs to be used for downloading to
the PPD in KH900 or CK35 mode, or its converted form in the shape of a BrotherLink 3 (serial or USB) with
a PPD Adapter.
For other PPD modes it is necessary to use a real serial BrotherLink 3, USB BrotherLink 3 or USB Brother-
Link 3 Plus or its converted form in the shape of a BrotherLink 1 (serial or USB) or the USB BrotherLink 5
with a PPD Adapter.
More information about the PPD Adapter can be found on Soft Byte Ltd (see http://soft-
byte.co.uk/CableManuals/PPDAdapter.pdf).

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Cable Links Information (Complete)

Magnet Arm
Magnet arms, see also Soft Byte Ltd (see
https://www.softbyte.co.uk/magnet-
arms.htm), are supplied as standard with a
number of cable links and can be
purchased as an optional extra with others.
A Magnet Arm and Knitlink box combin-
ation enables Interactive Knitting for
electronic as well as non-electronic knitting
machines. The different types are shown in
the image on the left.
The 'large' black plastic arm is supplied
with serial cable links and the 'small' one
was previously supplied with some discon-
tinued serial BrotherLink cable links to
attach to Brother carriages with a
KnitLeader tripper arm.
Where a small black plastic Magnet Arm is
used it needs to be pushed onto the
KnitLeader tripper on the left hand side of
the carriage. If the rubber tube holding the
magnet has a hole, the KnitLeader tripper
needs to be pushed through this to stay in
the 'Up' position. If there is no hole the
empty end of the tube is pushed over the
tripper arm and the tripper moved down into the working position. USB cables are supplied with a Magnet
Arm that attaches directly to the carriage and can be adjusted so it lines up with the KnitLink box. During
knitting the tripper must be in the 'Down' (working) position to keep it out of the way of the KnitLink box.
Both the 'large' and 'for lace carriage' types are slightly flexible in the middle to allow precise positioning.
The black type of plastic Magnet Arm can be bent into the right position, using pliers if necessary.
The 'lace' Magnet Arm is used on Brother (except the KH940 and KH950i when used with a BrotherLink 1)
and Toyota machines. The additional Magnet Arm attaches to the lace carriage.
The metal Magnet Arm is supplied with USB cable links. The screw fixing makes it easy to adjust to any
carriage. It can be used in place of any of the other Magnet Arms.
The KnitLink box platform is required with the Silver Reed 360, 370, 700, Zippy with KnitRadar and the
Passap / Pfaff Duomatic (punch card) because there is no convenient place on the knitting machine to
place the KnitLink box. Instead, the box must be placed on a small platform that attaches to the yarn mast.

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page 506

 Tutorials (Complete)

Tutorials
See All Video Tutorials
Standard Garment Styling Tutorials
Original Pattern Drafting Tutorials
Stitch Designer Tutorials
Interactive Knitting Tutorials
DesignaKnit Graphics Studio Tutorials
A number of video tutorials is provided on the Soft Byte Ltd website and can be accessed by using the links
provided above or from the Help / Tutorials menu option. Either way, the Soft Byte Ltd website will be
opened in Internet Explorer or the default web browser from where individual Tutorials can be accessed.
The tutorial that is accessed will run in a browser window without further prompting. Depending on the
browser, the tutorials can also be downloaded by right clicking and using the "Save" option. The "All Video
Tutorials" link accesses the main page to select tutorials in any of the sections of DesignaKnit 9, while the
other links will go to directly to the relevant tutorials for each specific section.

If tutorials are downloaded, it is recommended to create a dedicated Tutorials folder in the Users \<user-
name> \DesignaKnit 9 folder (See page 410) which will facilitate accessing as well as managing backup
of all DesignaKnit user files.

Page 507 Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015

Licence Agreement (Complete)

Licence Agreement
You should carefully read the following terms and conditions before using DesignaKnit 9 ("the Software").
Unless you have a different Licence agreement signed by Soft Byte Ltd, your use of this software indicates
your acceptance of this Licence agreement and warranty. If you do not accept these terms you must not
install the Software and must cease using this software immediately.

Copyright
DesignaKnit 9 copyright © 2015 is held by Soft Byte Ltd., all rights reserved.

Use of the Software

You shall not modify, decompile, disassemble, or otherwise reverse engineer the Software or the optical
disk on which it may be supplied. Any such unauthorized use shall result in immediate and automatic
termination of this Agreement.
One registered copy of the Software may be used in only one of the following two ways.
(a) One person is licensed to use the Software on up to two computers at any one time. When a computer
is no longer used by the Customer, the Software should be uninstalled or otherwise rendered unusable and
the licence may be transferred to a replacement computer.
(b) One computer is licensed to have the Software used by any number of persons, one at a time, while
physically present at the computer. Each person so licensed must be the Customer, an employee of the
Customer, an employee of a Customer's subsidiary company, or a third party consultant retained by the
Customer to perform information technology functions. Each licensed person who is not a customer ("Third
Party") may use the Software solely for Customer's internal business operations and benefit, and for no
other purpose whatsoever. Customer shall ensure that such Third Party complies with the terms of this
Licence Agreement and will be responsible for any breach by such Third Party. When the computer is no
longer used by the Customer or Third Party, the Software should be uninstalled or otherwise rendered
unusable and the Licence may be transferred to a replacement computer.
Transferring a licence is done by uninstalling the Software from the old computer and installing the
Software on the replacement computer. To complete the process the DesignaKnit distributor will provide a
replacement key number.
Breach of the conditions described in paragraphs (a) and (b) shall result in automatic termination of this
Agreement.

Warranty - Disk
With respect to the disk enclosed herein, Soft Byte Ltd warrants the same to be free from defects in mater-
ials and workmanship for a period of 60 days from the date of purchase. In the event of notification within
the warranty period, Soft Byte Ltd or its agents will replace or amend the defective disk. The remedy for
breach of this warranty shall be limited to replacement or amendment and shall not encompass any other
damages, including but not limited to loss of profit, and special, incidental, consequential, or other similar
claims.

Warranty - Cable Links

With respect to the cable links, USB to serial converters, magnet arms, and Knitlink platforms, Soft Byte Ltd
warrants the same to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 2 years from the
date of purchase. In the event of notification within the warranty period, Soft Byte Ltd or its agents will

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page 508

 Licence Agreement (Complete)

replace or amend the defective cable link. The remedy for breach of this warranty shall be limited to replace-
ment or amendment and shall not encompass any other damages, including but not limited to loss of profit,
and special, incidental, consequential, or other similar claims.

Disclaimer
Soft Byte Ltd and its agents specifically disclaim all other warranties, expressed or implied, including but
not limited to implied warranties of merchantability. In no event shall Soft Byte Ltd or its agents be liable for
any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental,
consequential or other damage.

Your work
Any printouts that you have made with the Software are your property and you are free to publish them or
sell them. The same applies to stitch patterns and shaping data files that you have made using the
Software.

Page 509 Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015

Credits (Complete)

Credits
System design Matthew Bragg & Cilla Mann
Software design & program-
Matthew Bragg & John Hartley
ming
Silverlink 4 design & firmware Jos Timmermans
Silverlink 5 design & firmware Justin Bernard / Davlec Ltd.
Cilla Mann, Jos Timmermans, Karen Kuranda, Rita de Jong,
Consultants LouLou Pirotte, Carol Hocknel, John Blakeman, Marion
Verhaegh
Manual and Help authors Marion Verhaegh, Karen Kuranda, Cilla Mann
Video tutorials Karen Kuranda, Sadie Kightley
KnitWriteDK TrueType font
Cilla Mann
author
Roosmalen 1 TrueType font
Jacqueline Heijdemann / Knitdesign
author
DesignaKnit Gallery All contributors to the contents of the DesignaKnit Gallery.

Iris Atkinson, Stephanie Cox, Betty Croke, Bonita Dunford, Mrs

Soft Byte Ltd wishes to acknow- S J Fisher, Diane Frayling, Claire Gill, Angela Gordon, Katherine
ledge the following individuals for Gordon, Joy Hopkins, Pauline Higgins, Joy Johnson, Margaret
their contribution of stitch Kelly, Jean Keys, Kathleen Kinder, Cilla Mann, Margaret Meech,
patterns for DesignaKnit Margaret Mintram, Hilary, Lynda Anne, Norma Steinberg, Lyn
Traves

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page 510

 Eraser 95
Index Fill with pattern 111
Flood fill 102
Line 96
Pencil 94
A Rectangle 103
Abbreviations for knitting methods 430 Dropper tool 105
ABC Lettering tool 108
Ascii table 292 E
AutoChart 199 Expected / Unexpected stitches 342
Export Palette 247
B
Bird's Eye 110 F
Files
C File types in DesignaKnit 409
Cable Links 497 Graphic files 465
Check 59 Rename 412
Colour Changer 490 Focus, Mode 224
Colour coding 408 Folders 410
Colour Scheme 21 Default folders 411
Differentiate 22
G
Convert Colour and Stitch symbol 231
Good Practice 417
Convert Graphics 115
Copyright 508 I
Curves 96
Import Palette 249
Complex Shapes 100
Import Stitch cable 322
Handles 97
Simple Curves 98 Integrate garment pieces 185
Simple Shapes 99 Integrated Changes 403
Cut and Sew 187 Integrated Template 390
Options 189 Fair Isle 394
Partial 192 Intarsia 396
Process 193 Jacquard 396
Cut, Copy and Paste 76 Lace 399
Right and Wrong facing 398
Bitmap and Text 78
Cut and Copy 76
Paste 79 J
Japanese knitting machines 472
D Japanese notation 369
Daisy buttons 74
Default stitch pattern 57 K
Dithering 120 Keep and Recalculate 149
Double bed 472 Keyboard layout 289
Double bed Symbols 287 Keyboard Short cuts 406
Drawing 92 Knit as One section 196
Brush 95 KnitLeader 378
Curve 96 KnitLink box 498
Ellipse 104

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 KnitRadar 379 Multi stitch procedures 268
Knitting machines 472
Brother 475 N
Creative 481 Naming consistently 187
Memory considerations 474
Needle sizes 431
Passap 481
Silver Reed 486 No-stitch symbol 263
Superba 489 Notes in Shape files 421
Toyota 489 Notes in Stitch patterns 422
Knitwrite
Use to design 291 O
KnitWrite 251 Omit Duplicate Rows 375

L P
Lace 328 Palettes 223
Drawing 331 General 20
Fashion 334 Handling 246
Fine Lace 335 Setup Colours 234
Punch Card 336 Setup Stitch symbols 243
Simple 334 Stitch cables 308
Lasso 88 Toolbar 228
Actions 91 Pattern Pieces 429
Selections 90 Pattern Repeats 86
Lock Pass 425 Pointer Position 18
Printing Shapes 365
M Page setup 366
Manipulating stitch patterns 128 Print Options 367
Flip 164 Setup for chosen format 372
Random variations 170 Printing Stitch Patterns 64
Shadows and Outlines 171 Product level 9
Turn 163
Variations 167 Punch card 390
Memo numbers 238
Memo symbols 271 R
Menus 36 Rectangle, filled 103
Method of Knitting 338 Redefine 84
Hand Knit 340 Resizing stitch patterns
Machine Knit 345 Insert, Delete rows and stitches 87
Mirrors 112 New pattern setup 54
Rescale 164
Motifs 137
RGB and HSL 470
Export Motif 137
Import Border 140 Rib 428
Import Single Motif 138 Right click workspace 21
Import Tile 142 Roosmalen font 251
Manipulation tags 143
Rulers 26
Stamp and flip 139
Tiling tool buttons 145
Mouse buttons 25 S
Saving different file types 63

Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015 Page ii

 Saving symbols file 299 Exact Stitch Layout 424
Scaled Paste 129 Matching Shape and Stitch pattern 180
Passap 424
Selecting Needles 226 Stitch Designer 55
Selection Box 71 Swatch 427
Drag and Drop 74 Use shape file tension 181
Shape-Only options 339 Text Editor 295
Short rowing 265 Toolbar 298
Start of knitting 340 Thumbnails 36
Left edge of row 1 341 Graphic files 465
Row 1 is wrong side 341 Shape files 458
Stitch patterns 433
Status bar 16
Toolbars 25
Stitch Cables 302
Tracing with a tablet 105
Alerts 318
Identical abbreviations 310 Transfer 443
Mirror cable 322 Download 450
Naming system 312 Extract 446
Organizer 311 Integrated download 455
Palette toolbar 310 Restore 448
Placing 323 Upload 444
Purl stitches 310 Transparency 227
Search 315
Stitch Pattern applications 208, 211
U
Border 210
Fantasy Blanket 217 Unintegrate stitch pattern 185
Stitch Cable 216 Units of measurement 50
Stitch pattern methods 358 Update 418
Fair Isle 359
Intarsia 360 W
Jacquard 352
What's new 12
Right / Wrong Side facing 362
Workflow 52
Stitch Pattern views 26
Stitch Symbols 251
Y
Lace 329
Memo 271 Yarn Calculation 384
Smart, hand knit 260 Yarn names 227
Smart, machine knit 252 Yarn Numbers & Feeders 148
Stitch types 273 Numbers and Letters 492
Suppress Yarns 159 Yarn symbols 242
Symbols Organizer 243
Z
T Zooming 43
Technical Support 414
Technique Change Control 256
Technique numbers 481
Templates 357
Tension 420
Estimate 426

Page iii Copyright © Soft Byte Ltd. 2015